The Difference Between You and Me
by Akumi-san
Summary: Sasori is forced to bring Deidara to the Akatsuki and now has him as a partner. The two are complete opposites. Deidara is put off by Sasoris coldness and Sasori is troubled by his past. Will the two ever get along? eventual SasoDei
1. Confrontations

Four scrolls were lying open on a shadowed table in a dark room. No other furnishings were visible in the dim room and not a sound could be heard. The walls were of rough material as if the very structure had been carved deep into a rock. Far enough into the darkness stood a man with his back to the scrolls, seeming to be in deep thought.

"If this one is such a nuisance, perhaps it may be useful to me," his deep voice cut through the silence suddenly as the man turned back to the solitary table. He picked out a particular scroll with one hand and brought his striking Rinnegan eyes to the text as he brought his other hand up to summon a subordinate.

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A large hunched figure shuffled along the path slowly and deliberately, leaving a continuous trail as its long black cloak dragged on the ground behind it. Red clouds decorated the garment sporadically and a conical straw hat kept the figure's identity hidden.

Sasori let a scowl move across his rather impassive face underneath the guise as he continued on his way. Although it was nice enough to finally be out on a mission again, it was strange to be so alone. Though that didn't exactly bother him. He hated people anyway and when he was temporarily put into a three-man team with Itachi and Kisame he felt even more out of place.

No, he had firmly reassured himself when he had first set out from the Land of Rain, the cause of such dissatisfaction had nothing to do with the company he kept but more the fact that he had no company. Thus, it wasn't a dangerous mission and Sir Leader could afford sending a member out alone. And that led to the mission itself: he was going to pick someone up? Here he was, an S-class criminal, and he was sent out to run almost D rank missions. It was humiliating.

And it wasn't as if the Land of Grass was a ten minute walk down the road. It would take a good part of the day if he went at a pace that wouldn't unnecessarily exhaust himself and to top it all off, this was only where the person was last sighted. No guarantees the target had even decided to stay.

If there was one thing he hated nearly as much as waiting, it was wasting time and here was a wild goose chase after a single ninja he knew nothing about save the village they hailed from. And not all ninjas would wear their headbands in plain sight – Sasori didn't.

But, as was his policy, he retained the calm, uninterested expression that constantly alighted his features. In reality, he didn't care about such injustices that were made against him – he had a long time to deal with them yet and if nothing else, he at least had something to do.

As he continued his steady path northwards, the tall cliffs and light forests started to give way to grassy plains. The evergreens became more and more sparse as the land flattened and the soil underneath his feet disappeared under the numerous grasses.

Thus Sasori assumed he had entered the Land of Grass although he didn't know the exact border. Another hour northwards, he came across the tiny village his target had been spotted last. In truth he had already forgotten the name of the obscure little place. It wasn't very important, as long as he didn't get lost.

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This tiny offset from Kusagakure was perfect! Though he had made a few enemies and his face had become a bit recognizable, the people who lived here had no idea what went on in the outside world. In addition, it was directly between the Lands of Fire and Earth. Therefore, he was close enough to Iwagakure to keep a good watch on his home country and close enough to Konohagakure to prevent Rock village ninjas to come after him for fear of starting a war with their former rival country.

A blond of medium height and slender build smiled to himself at his own genius as he ordered himself a small glass of sake at a stand and walked off down the main (and only) street.

It was a sunny day and if he didn't get any requests, Deidara planned to lounge around in his room and possibly get some rest after his last journey from which he had returned an hour before. He also had a good deal of money saved up from his jobs, so he could live how he pleased for a while.

Inspecting the little buildings as he passed, Deidara quickly decided he had been in more interesting towns before and instead chose to go back to his room in the tiny inn – or better yet, the roof of the inn!

Thoroughly excited by the prospect of being closer to the sky and completely forgetting about sleep, he hurriedly made his way up to the top of the building and seated himself on the thatching. Even when not flying, he had always loved heights. There was so much more you could see and the wind that seemed so much stronger when you were up there reminded him of the gusts his home village used to get.

As much as he liked his free life, he hadn't really thought it all out. Deidara had assumed it would be adventurous to go out and do whatever he wanted after becoming a jounin at such a young age, so he broke ties with Iwagakure and set off to pursue his passion – explosions. But now he was a wanted man and the longer he avoided capture, the higher his rank would be and the more experienced the ninjas after him would be. After escaping the ANBU that had caught up to him in the Land of Lightning, Deidara surmised that he might actually be an S-class missing nin by now. He still liked the excitement but it was hard to be a lone criminal; there was only so long you could run when no one had your back.

Then there was the Akatsuki. Of course he had only heard of it in whispered rumors, but as the story goes, the members of that organization were all high ranked criminals that were wanted by every country and wore specific garb that was identifiable even from a distance. He had always kept his eyes peeled for black with red clouds, but apparently no one was interested in the places he went.

A sudden gust of wind blew his hair out of his face and he saw a figure coming to the open gates of the village. A figure that was wearing black with red clouds! It was as if his prayers had been answered (and he wasn't even religious)! Hopping from his perch and grabbing his only possession – a satchel that he quickly tied to his belt – from his room's window, Deidara dashed off to confront the person, formulating a plan for his approach as he went.

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Sasori entered the gates of the tiniest village he had ever seen. It wasn't poorly kept, it just looked as if the only inhabitants kept rice fields instead of real jobs. At least he should be able to pick out the only ninja in this congregation of peasants if his target was still here – and judging by the town, he seriously doubted they would be. That way he wouldn't have to ask around.

As he made his slow way forward, he noticed someone rushing towards him, blonde hair whipping in the breeze. Sasori rose a hidden eye brow and stopped, readying his tail just in case. This individual was easily spotted as a ninja and one couldn't be too careful.

The young man was also holding a kunai and looking straight at Sasori as he ran. Narrowing his eyes, he got himself ready to perform a substitution jutsu and get away from this obviously insane kid. Before he completed the handseal, however, Sasori made out the forehead protector tied around the others' head. A missing nin from Iwagakure – exactly the one he had been ordered to find and take back to Amegakure.

Instead he decided to make a sand clone of himself and discover the reason for the blondes sudden outburst. Keeping his clone in place, he watched from beside a building.

The blonde stopped, apparently confused by Sasori's lack of movement. Even still, he pressed the kunai against where Sasori's neck would have presumably been and spoke, "You are of the Akatsuki, un?" Receiving no answer from either the clone or Sasori, he took it as a cue to continue, "Take me with you!" The young man raised his voice in what he obviously believed to be a threatening tone and Sasori found to sound rather childish.

But rather than allowing the ninja to converse with his clone, he let it dissolve into millions of sand particles as he shuffled from his place laughing in the hoarse, ominous voice of his.

The Iwa nin's surprise was eminent in the one stunning blue eye uncovered by his golden locks, but he quickly get control of his composure and glared down at the hunched figure of Sasori. The Akatsuki member thought it not only ironic that his target wanted to come with him already, but found it terribly amusing that this kid so resembled a young woman that Sasori might not have been able to differentiate had he not spoken.

Suppressing his cruel laugh almost instantly, he turned and began the path back the way he had come that day, not even checking if the kid was following him. "Come on, brat."

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A/N: Hi everyone, Im really sorry about all my negligence about my other stories, but I had to write this one. Right now Im currently going through a SasDei phase and I had to write. Please let me know how you like this! There will be more to come, and I promise itll get more interesting!!! I hope at least... 


	2. The Journey Home

Deidara couldn't believe his luck. No questions asked and this Akatsuki member was willing to bring him along with him. Deciding to return the favor, he followed silently without inquiring as to the reason. Now he was glad he had chosen to take up his belongings before he faced Sasori – for some reason, he got the uncomfortable feeling that he wouldn't have been happy if Deidara had asked to go fetch his things first.

Speaking of his companion, Deidara had no idea what to make of him at all. He couldn't possibly be a very good ninja. He was really bulky and slow. Granted, he hadn't the slightest idea that he had confronted a sand clone so Sasori must be somewhat fast, but altogether, the appearance of this guy was a bit of a let down. But contrary to that, Deidara also found him to be intimidating and scary, just like he had imagined one from the Akatsuki to be. Especially since Sasori had discarded his hat, revealing a menacing face half-covered by a cloth.

That was another thing. He knew he had acted rather spontaneously and unwisely (at this thought he flushed), but Sasori had done absolutely nothing to stop him and merely got out of harms way. Not only that, but he was laughing when he exposed himself. It was as if this strange ninja was far superior to him and knew it.

Not to mention that he had called him a "brat." Deidara had long since considered himself such a thing and related the word to a small, disobedient child that had a tendency to whine. As far as he knew, he hadn't exhibited any of these traits. But he settled on not mentioning his resentment to the other and walking along in pouting silence.

Sasori, on the other hand, found his traveling companion unworthy of his time and effort. Although the fact ofDeidara willingly coming with him had aided his cause, Sasori had been traveling all day to get to this pitiful town and found himself greeted by what he deemed as a sorry excuse for a ninja, judging by what he had witnessed.

Now he had to make it home to the Akatsuki headquarters before it got too late. As usual, Kakuzu had refused to supply him with the necessary funds to secure himself a decent room at an inn should he require it and he didn't fancy kipping on the dirt. He picked up his a pace a bit – it took a lot of effort to get himself clean again after that course of action and he had much better things to do than spend hours scrubbing himself down.

Deidara noticed his older and scarier companion had begun to go faster and gotten a bit ahead of him in his inattention so he jogged a little to catch back up, earning nothing from Sasori, who seemed quite determined to ignore his very existence.

Plus, he hadn't really considered how long it would take to get wherever they were going or if they were even going to take a break at any point during the journey. Deidara already was a little low on chakra and a bit worn out from his last job in the Land of Waterfall so he would need some sort of rest before too long. It was yet another example of his inability to think things through to their ending consequences. Sighing, he reached into the satchel he had grabbed, his one and only extra possession, and took out a lump of whitish clay that he immediately began to work with his hands absentmindedly.

Aside from the light footfalls that could be made out hitting the hard ground just behind him, Sasori had no evidence the kid was even still following him. He didn't really care, though; he very much doubted Deidara would wander off after showing such zeal upon sight of his own conspicuous garb. In any case, the blonde was quiet – although the real reason for that was fatigue more than anything else. At least if he stayed behind him and kept up his silence, Sasori could enjoy the journey home and imagine that he was still alone.

He took to examining with mild interest the scenery he had failed to notice previously as a result of his earlier displeasure. Everything looked so old and untouched, just as it should. Though they wouldn't last forever, the trees and rocks in the gradually more forested landscape were the closest example of true art found in nature. With that in mind, he pushed out the last annoyed thought of his ridiculous mission and companion and instead continued to contemplate his surroundings as he plodded on.

Deidara, however, took no notice whatsoever of their backdrop as he worked on the clay. Still indecisive of what to create after an hour or two and having squished his first two ideas back into a shapeless mass, he settled on just playing with it with his hands. It gave him something to do while his mind raced as he followed the trail left behind the dragging cloak of Sasori.

Perhaps it wasn't such a grand idea to involve himself with known S-class criminals as he had willingly done. For all he knew, the laugh that Sasori had given him might have foreshadowed his fate and the moment he was in the company of other members he would be tortured and killed horrifically.

With his back turned to the blonde, Sasori missed the momentary look of horror in the bright blue eyes as the other imagined his doom. _No_, Deidara tried to reassure himself, _no, if I was going to be killed, wouldn't this guy have already tried?_ His reasoning didn't help very much, so he instead redirected his thoughts to possible good outcomes.

Of course, he had been taken without question. Perhaps the slash through his headband that showed he was no longer loyal to his village made an impression on his companion. At least that way it was obvious he was at least a rogue and possibly a criminal. Either way, this is what he had been waiting for. There was a reason ninjas seldom acted alone – you only had yourself to depend on – and now he had a chance to finally work with others again. And if they needed a test, Deidara had his kekkei genkai to use to his full advantage. His palmouths hadn't failed him yet. A yawn cut through his smirk and he realized how much he needed sleep.

It was starting to get dark and he could feel his eyes begin to droop. Sasori was idly keeping track of their geographic location as he came up with ways he could make nature a bit more everlasting, vaguely aware of Deidara's presence. They must have been traveling for hours, neither of them speaking once. The blonde was contemplating just demanding they stop there and rest when Sasori halted suddenly and caused the exhausted Iwa nin to crash into him.

Sasori's bad mood returned instantly and he whipped his head around to glare at the other, the cloth over his face fluttering slightly.

"I-I'm sorry, un," Deidara stuttered as he regained his balance and put away the clay he had been holding. His voice was somewhat hoarse from the hours of misuse. "Are we…there?" In truth he didn't really know what 'there' was supposed to be, but he had hoped it was the Akatsuki headquarters. It did looked like there was something down below them but it was hard to see much in the growing gloom.

The two figures stood on a cliff overlooking an even higher rock face. Below them was a large pool of water with a small stream running out of it at the far left side to form a creek that meandered out of sight. Directly across from them and partially submerged in the water was a red archway in front of a large boulder that had a seal with the character for 'forbidden' on it.

"Hn," Sasori growled in response and leapt down to the water. Unwilling to be left behind, Deidara followed suit and the pair walked on the pool to the archway.

A few handseals from the Akatsuki member and a focus of chakra seemed to be enough for passage and the boulder moved to the side, revealing a dark hole in its place.

Suddenly nervous, the blonde edged closer to the hunched figure of his companion and with one irritated look behind him, Sasori walked into the newly created opening.

The water continued a ways into what opened up to become a vast cavern. The darkness was oppressing and at first Deidara couldn't see a thing – especially when the rock slid back into place behind them – but he could gradually make out things in the dimness. Not that there really was much to see save for two doors on the two sides of the opposite wall.

A form materialized in front of them both suddenly with a strange static-like sound, making the blonde jump backwards in surprise. Sasori, apparently quite used to this sort of thing, rolled his eyes before bowing his head. "Sir Leader, this is the man you asked me to bring to you."

His voice slightly blurred as if speaking through a telephone, the man replied in his rich voice, "Good, Sasori."

_That's right, I never even got his name. So its Sasori?_ Deidara thought, briefly forgetting the current surroundings.

Seeming to lose interest in Sasori, the silhouette of the leader turned the unnaturally glowing grey eyes upon Deidara, startling him back out of his thoughts. "You are Deidara." It seemed more a statement than a question. Deidara nodded slightly, unsure of what was coming and wholly forgetting his weariness. "We have had many requests to eliminate the apparently elusive terrorist bomber." His voice held a soft and threatening amusement as he noticed the blonde visibly flinch as fear clouded his eyes.

Sasori looked up. This kid was a criminal? Given the previous display, he highly doubted that but…eh…whatever. Lowering his head again, he offhandedly tried to figure what Sir Leader had wanted with him. It mildly surprised him that he hadn't even thought of that before. From the sound of it, the blonde was supposed to have been disposed of – perhaps Zetsu had requested to have the target given to him instead of killing him. That seemed likely; Deidara had seemed completely useless otherwise so it could be assumed he was only meant as food.

"I was given a report of your capabilities, however, and I have temporarily decided against this." Deidara relaxed ever so slightly and the leader continued, "You shall be Sasori's partner in the Akatsuki until I can decide if you are worth my time and interest." Without another word, the hologram of Sir Leader dispersed.

Sasori looked up again sharply. _What?!_ This fool had to be his partner? So that was why only he had been sent out to fetch him in the first place. His mood dropped through the floor and the nice quiet room he had been anticipating seemed stifling when he imagined another living in there.

Deidara heaved a sigh of relief. So he wasn't going to be killed! And that Sir Leader guy was gone – he had been really eerie and the blonde hoped he wouldn't have to deal with him too much in the future. _And_, it finally hit him, _I'm an Akatsuki member!!_ He was so happy he could shout. He refrained, however, because he remembered how annoyed Sasori would be with him if he did. Oh yeah, come to think of it, they were partners now, so…

"Ne, Sasori-san, where do I sleep, un? I'm kinda," he yawned in the middle of his sentence, giving Sasori a strong urge to hit some manners into him, "tired, un."

Instead of striking the kid, Sasori turned away from him and began shuffling towards the painted door directly ahead of them in the far right hand corner. Deidara eagerly followed him, pleased that at least he didn't have to meet someone new for his partner – even if this guy was a cranky jerk.

The door opened into a lit room much more cheery looking than the "entrance hall." It opened to his right into what looked like a kitchen and ahead of him appeared to be a rather large sitting room. Yawning again, Deidara realized how little all of this mattered to him at the moment and he followed a still disgruntled Sasori up four flights of stairs to another black painted door with red paint spelling out, in neat hiragana, 'Sasori.' Sasori himself opened it and flicked on the light, revealing two beds.

"We will share this room. That," Sasori paused with an almost unnoticeable pained sound in his voice, "side will be yours, brat." He pointed to their left.

"Yay!" Deidara ignored the insult and leapt ahead of his companion, dashing to the bed and tossing off his shoes as he went. He was far to tired to notice the strangeness of the side of the room that was assigned to him or that Sasori twitched the moment Deidara stepped foot on the other side. Unconsciously, he shook off the thick layer of dust on the bed covers before slipping in, clothes and all. He fell asleep almost instantly.

Sasori sighed, suddenly regretting the mission even more deeply but with different reasons, before shuffling towards the bathroom on the right to ready himself for bed.

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A/N: Sorry about the length. I couldnt stop half-way there!! Well, next time will be better, promise! And Dei-chan will meet the other members - and the secret of the strange room shall be revealed . Please review - the next part will come up that much faster. 


	3. Morning Discoveries

WARNING!: And this is important! Because of circumstances beyond my control - like the entrance of our lovely Jashin friend - this particular chapter probably should be rated M. If you dont like swearing, you might not want to read this. Thanks

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Deidara awoke with a sneeze. Opening his eyes, he looked around and for a moment couldn't remember at all where he was. He faced a rough wall that seemed to made of stone. Rolling onto his back, he looked, without sitting up, at the foot of his bed and saw a pile of clothes neatly folded in a pile on an empty desk. Suddenly it came back to him when he saw the black fabric and crimson cloud design on one article of clothing. The blonde smiled happily and snuggled into his blankets again only to be interrupted by another sneeze.

_What, am I allergic to this bed or something_? He thought irritably as he sat up. If he was going to keep sneezing, there was no way he'd get any more sleep so he might as well get up. He felt rested enough anyway.

As he sat up, a cloud of dust was released into the patch of light that shone through the window just above the two bedside tables. That struck him as odd. Apparently Sasori hadn't used this bed in a long time. But, as he looked around, the rest of the room was freakishly clean.

An opening at the foot of the other bed widened into another room to reveal another door next to the front door which he presumed to be either a bathroom or a closet. Next to it on the far wall in that "other room" stood a desk identical to the one he had at the foot of his bed that had a few pieces of wood in neat rows and piles that looked to be sorted by size and length. There was more to that room, but he couldn't see past the wall that the other bed was against. Bringing his gaze to the floor, he confirmed his guess that Sasori was extremely tidy – there was absolutely nothing on the floor except, well, Deidara's shoes, those of which he tossed off randomly in his last spurt of energy to get to bed. As he brought his eyes to his shoes, he noticed a significant color change in the floor. It started halfway down the room, encompassing everything that Deidara assumed to be his. A closer look revealed his footprints to the bed – dust. Everything on his side had a thick layer of dust on it; the bed, the table, the floor, and the desk. It was so strange for one so organized as his partner, so Deidara resolved to ask the cranky old guy when he got the chance to that day.

Speaking of which, where was his new companion? Had he already left? Deidara moved out of his covers to sit on the edge of his bed, setting off another cloud of dust particles to tickle his nose. He sneezed again – damn that was annoying! This room was going to get cleaned if he had time today.

At the sound of his sneeze, something stirred in the other bed, catching his eye. A small figure was almost completely covered by the blankets and a head with red hair rested on the pillow, facing the wall opposite the blonde. It was no wonder he hadn't noticed this person before – his form barely caused the covers to rise over his body and his red hair blended with the scarlet pillowcase. Deidara stared as the figure grunted lightly in his sleep and turned over to face him, eyes still closed in peaceful slumber. The face seemed to place this one around the age of sixteen or seventeen.

He cocked his head in confusion. Who was this? Sasori hadn't told him they would be sharing the room with another and he seemed far too young to already be a member. Even still, Deidara found himself wishing this young man was his partner instead of grumpy old Sasori.

As if awoken by his thoughts, the other stirred and rolled onto his back, opening his brown eyes a fraction and staring upward for a moment before closing them again and yawning widely as he swung his legs out over the edge of the bed. Rubbing his eyes slowly, the red head groaned sleepily and sauntered into the other room that had been hidden from the blonde's sight, never really opening his eyes. Apparently, he had no idea the blonde even existed.

Deidara waited expectantly for the other to return. Upon hearing the soft sounds of teeth being brushed, he remembered that he also had a few things to do. Lacking the proper utensils to do much of anything else, he settled with just redoing his hair. Still looking towards the other "room," the blonde reached into the already open satchel and took out his brush, the only other item he had on him. Deftly, he combed out his sleek hair and retied the ponytail atop his head with his favorite red ribbon. He readjusted the headband he had left on all night with one hand and put away his brush with the other when he realized he had something remotely solid and sticky plastered to his shirt.

"Eurgh," he moaned when he looked down. During the night, the clay he kept in his pouch had come out and attached itself to him. He had successfully ruined another batch of clay because of his inattentiveness – great. Greatly annoyed with himself, he began the arduous task of removing the pale molding material just as the water finished splashing in the sink on the opposite side of the wall.

Only mere traces of white remained on the black fabric when Deidara declared himself finished. It was good enough, and, judging by the clothes set on the empty desk on his right, he would be given a uniform different to his own anyway.

He heard a yawn and light footfalls moving from behind the wall before the red head made his appearance. This time he was no longer wearing dark grey sweats and a baggy sweatshirt; his garb included white leg warmers ending in the traditional shoes for ninjas, black, semi-loose pants, and another, better fitting black sweatshirt. Deidara noticed with interest that his nails were painted a dark green.

Once more, the other didn't seem to notice the blonde at all. He made a direct line for the door before Deidara decided he ought to interrupt lest he be left behind – after all, Sasori didn't seem to be anywhere in this room at the moment.

"…Un?" he said just loud enough to be heard. The red head visibly jumped and whipped around looking for the source of the noise. Brown, half-lidded eyes fell on Deidara first in confusion, then in icy recognition, all the while giving the blonde the feeling of being searched from inside out. The other's stare made its way down his shirt lingering on the white stains with a raised eyebrow.

"Hurry up, brat," the red head said emotionlessly, his gaze darting towards the pile of clothes on the desk and back. Something struck a chord with Deidara.

"Sasori-san?" he asked tentatively. This youthful voice was nothing like the harsh growl of the Sasori he knew, but no one, up until he had met that grouchy Akatsuki member, had called him a 'brat.'

Seeming to misunderstand the inquiring tone, Sasori replied with the tiniest hint of irritation in the apathetic tone, "It isn't difficult. The cloak is for missions and the pants and shirt are for use at all times. Can I rightfully assume you know how to put those on?" He rose another red brow.

Deidara felt his face get warm as he fought back a flush. Deciding it was best not to retort, he wandered over to his new clothes and examined the coat identical to the one he saw Sasori wearing the day before. As he set it down and began going through the other garments, he brought up the question that was bothering him. "Weren't you different the other day, un?"

"Yes," the red head answered shortly.

Realizing Sasori wasn't planning on elaborating on his own, Deidara pressed a little more, "How? Is this what you really look like, un?" He began stripping off his own clothing.

The unemotional, dull, brown gaze of Sasori's gave a flash of momentary shock at seeing the blonde undressing so shamelessly before returning to normal as he turned around to give the other more privacy. "It's a disguise I wear." His tone signaled the end of the discussion.

"Oh, un…" Deidara trailed off, feeling just as confused as before. He finished dressing in silence.

He noticed, when he looked back at his partner, the straight line running horizontally around the middle of his neck and debated whether he ought to mention this. Given the last reception one of his questions received, however, the blonde decided against this and merely walked up to him and smiled to show he was ready. He noticed in amusement, too, that he had about ten centimeters on his new partner.

Sasori twitched his mouth downward in his equivalence of a frown, mumbling, "Hn." He said nothing as he led the blonde down the four flights of stair they had climbed the night before. At each small landing was another black door, each with two words spelled out obviously by different people. As they passed the first one, Deidara made out the neat handwriting and untidy scrawl that spelled out 'Itachi' and 'Kisame,' respectively. He guessed that they were the names of the occupants judging by the fact Sasori also had his name on their door.

The next door, which opened into the room directly below their own, also had names on it, but Deidara was distracted from reading them by something on the red door frame inlaid into the uneven stone walls. A splash of something dark and reddish brown stained the wood and a few silver strands remained stuck in place by the substance that very resembled blood. Deidara's eyes widened in shock and he looked to his guide for some reassurance. Sasori didn't seem phased and he continued to ignore his partner's presence.

The last door also had two names written on it. One looked as if two people had tried to write it at the same time and the other made Deidara wonder if there was a child in the ranks. That one was so messy as to be almost illegible and it had a smudge through it that ran into the other characters above it.

They descended the last flight of stairs and coming from what he had gleaned to be the kitchen last night were voices. Most of them were rather subdued and now and then a figure dressed in his attire would pass across his sight through the doorway ahead.

The red head he entered the room and let out a wide yawn before continuing on pass the large table at which two people were seated and enter the kitchen area on the other side of a high black countertop, making a direct line to the coffee pot. Those at the table and the other standing at the counter turned their heads to stare at Deidara, who stood by the doorway where Sasori had left him and looked tremendously uncomfortable.

The tall man with light blue skin and lines across his cheeks that greatly resembled gills who stood next to Sasori spoke up first, his voice harsh and wavering as if he were trying to talk underwater, "Who's the kid?"

"My new partner," the red head replied as he took a deep gulp of hot coffee. He didn't seem interested in giving anymore of an explanation.

Rather miffed that Sasori couldn't seem to care less about him, the blonde decided to introduce himself, "I'm Deidara, un." He stood up a bit taller and sent a withering look at Sasori who refused to acknowledge it.

The man laughed. "It took you long enough to get a replacement, Sasori! We were wondering if you would ever get over-" he stopped short at the deadly glare he received from the much shorter red head. "Anyway, I pity you," he smoothed over, addressing Deidara, "Sasori is a bit difficult to deal with if you aren't used to his attitude." Sasori scowled but said nothing, merely adding a bit of cream and a number of sugar cubes to his drink. "Name's Kisame Hoshigaki. Since I doubt Sasori told you anything, this is the kitchen and you can take what you want whenever you're hungry." Kisame grinned a sharp-toothed smile and took a seat next to a somber young man with black hair and red eyes.

"Uh, thank you, un." Deidara grinned back and strode past Sasori to rummage through the fridge and cupboards for some orange juice and cereal.

He took a seat a chair away from an odd individual with a bright orange mask that had a single hole where he assumed one eye was and almost immediately regretted it.

"HI! I'M TOBI!" he screamed excitedly, practically bouncing out of his seat.

Deidara almost died of a heart attack at the sudden outburst. Ears ringing, he scooted his chair a little closer to the black-haired man on his right. "Er, nice to meet you, un?" He murmured quietly, wondering if Tobi would get the hint.

Whatever the crazy masked man was about to say was cut off by Sasori's soft voice, "Where's Zetsu, Tobi? I haven't seen him for days."

"OH! Zetsu-senpai just got back and is eating breakfast in our room, Sasori-senpai." Tobi seemed absolutely thrilled to be asked a question. "He says he hasn't gotten good food lately so he went out looking for his own."

This struck the blonde as odd. There was plenty of food in the kitchen. What more could anyone want? A look at the faces around him told him not to broach the subject. The man beside him gave the last bite of his doughnut a mildly disgusted look before eating it and Kisame looked at his pancakes as if he suddenly weren't hungry.

"Dammit Hidan!" A shout echoed down the stairwell, followed by a loud thud.

"Ow! What the fuck!?" Another voice yelled.

"They've started rather early today, haven't they?" The man with the black hair finally broke his silence.

"Its been more often lately, Itachi-senpai," Tobi nodded.

"What did you do with my heart!? I only see three masks right now!"

"How can you see any of them? They're attached to your back." A man with silver hair combed back trudged down the last steps and keeping well away from the one following him.

"That's not the point!" The second man was hot on his heels, his eyes blazing in fury. In Deidara's opinion, the first man had reason to get away – with the face cloth and the fabric over his head leaving only his eyes visible and the numerous stitches that seemed to hold his body together, that guy was certainly frightening to behold. "Where the hell is it!? You're the only one who could have gotten to it and the only one stupid enough to try!"

Deidara watched, quite fascinated by the utter hatred emanating from both men, as the stitched-up man grabbed an apple and a rather large knife from the counter and began chopping at it furiously. The other stood next to him and continued the argument.

"I fucking gave it to Zetsu, are you happy!?" he yelled.

"You…what?" The second man's voice dropped dangerously before he exploded. "You gave one of my hearts to Zetsu!? Do you realize how hard it is to get them, Hidan!?" he bellowed at the man with silver hair. Swinging out, the knife in his hand made contact with the flesh on Hidan's neck.

Deidara watched in horror as his head was lobbed off and toppled to the floor. The body crumpled into a heap where it stood, blood pooling out of the wound. People killed each other here? So much for the sense of camaraderie he had been looking forward to. And he decided to avoid that scary looking man in the future.

Sasori's voice came from Deidara's left where the red head had seated himself during the interchange, "Kakuzu, you realize you have to clean up that blood, right?"

"Damn right you fucking do!!" The head on the ground screamed up at Kakuzu. Deidara almost had another heart attack. _What the hell? How…!?_ "I want all this fucking blood back in my body, dammit! And you need to get a grip – your other mask is under your pillow, fuckface!"

Kakuzu scowled at Sasori and roared back at Hidan, "Shut up or I'll find out how many pieces I can cut you into before you do!" He unceremoniously yanked Hidan's severed head up by the hair and grabbed an arm of the immobile body to drag it out of the kitchen and back up the stairs with cries of "Ow, watch where you're swinging me, dammit!" coming from the unhappy head.

Deidara was still shocked at the display when he looked back at the table. Sasori was calmly finishing his coffee, Tobi was fiddling with a pair of chopsticks that seemed to be tremendously entertaining, Kisame was chuckling, and Itachi was taking a syrup-soaked bite of pancake from Kisame's unguarded plate. Not one of them seemed the slightest bit phased.

Seeing his appalled expression, Kisame stopped laughing and explained, "They do this all the time – it isn't anything special anymore. Hey, get your own!" Itachi merely gave him an expressionless crimson stare. "Anyway," he turned to Sasori, "since you won't be assigned to another mission so soon after the last, you ought to show Deidara around."

The red head sighed and set down his mug. "Let's go, brat." Surprisingly strong fingers closed around the blonde's slender arm and pulled him up. Though some of these other members were personable, he really wanted to be alone with Sasori again. He wasn't nearly as scary or overbearing as the others – even if he was rather grouchy.

* * *

A/N: Okay, sorry for the wait everyone! Ive been really busy - junior year is tough, plus Im in a musical. Work, work, work! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter better than I do. Sorry its so long, but I couldnt really stop in the middle; nothing happened by then! I hope to get the next installment up by next weekend (hopefully sooner). Much love 3 


	4. Grand Tour

Sasori's strangely hard fingers dug into Deidara's flesh as he dragged him out of the kitchen.

"Un, can you let go? You're holding too tight, un," he murmured, half-expecting the red head to turn around and yell at him.

Instead, Sasori released his grip and said quietly, "Hn."

Deidara decided that that was his version of a 'sorry,' so he smiled and replied happily, "That's okay, un!" It was probably a good idea to hide the red marks made by his partner's fingers as he said it, though. "So," he began, stopping when they were out of the other room, "what are we doing, un?"

Sasori finally turned back to face him and Deidara noticed the shadows under the half-lidded eyes. "I don't want you asking me where things are later, so I'm showing you where everything is now."

"Okay, that sounds fun! But," the blonde cocked his head in question, "can I ask questions today, un? And," he added as an afterthought, "will you answer them in more than one word?"

"Yes." Sasori made a sound in the back of his throat before adding with a look of mild irritation, "I will."

Grinning, Deidara followed a disgruntled Sasori around the Akatsuki Headquarters.

"Living room. There's a television and enough places for all of us to sit. Kakuzu doesn't allow food in this room because he just bought our carpet, but Hidan finds the look on his face amusing so he encourages us to eat out here anyway," Sasori explained, slightly lifting a hand in gesture when he mentioned things.

The thick carpet was a rich black and Deidara could feel his feet sink in each time he took a step. The walls, because they were basically living in a fully furnished cave, were the same drab stone that was congruent with everything else he had seen. In the left hand corner of the room was a huge television with a number of different remotes sitting atop it. Placed sporadically but tastefully around the TV were two sofas, three comfortable-looking reclining chairs, and a rosewood coffee table. All five couches and chairs were suede, either scarlet or black, and looked extremely soft and squashy. In its entirety, the room was relatively clean save for a few things strewed about one or two of the seats. Two more black doors were at the far right hand side of the area and Sasori led the way to the one furthest away from them, Deidara following close behind.

Opening the door, he motioned towards the darkness. "The basement. Everything that wouldn't be in a closet or a pantry goes here. Watch for rats when you go down."

Deidara made a face. "How can you get rats in a rock, un?"

Sasori grunted his displeasure at having to explain something. "Tobi lost his pet rats a year ago then for Easter thought it would be tremendously fun to hide eggs in the basement and have the rest of us search for them. We all thought it was a ridiculous idea and didn't bother. In any case, Tobi couldn't find them again and obviously the rats did," he replied in a monotone. Apparently the story had gotten quite old to him.

"Oh, un."

Sasori closed the door and moved to the one directly beside it. It opened into a hallway with three more doors on either side and straight ahead. "That one," the red head said through a bored sigh, pointing lazily to the left, "leads to the laundry room. If you've washed your clothes before, it wont be hard to figure out. That," his hand moved lazily forwards to gesture at the door at the end of the hall, "is the bathroom for the first floor. Either that or you have run up the four flights of stairs."

He moved to the closed door on the right and opened it, flicking on the light. It was another hallway, but this one was furnished with Akatsuki cloaks, winter coats, shoes, or any other spare article of clothing. The closet portion ended halfway down the stretch of hall, where the walls were instead decorated with shelves that were lined with large assortment of dry goods, canned foods, and a various number of other victuals. Another door ended the corridor and Sasori approached it without a word. Apparently this passage was self-explanatory.

Deidara looked around curiously. He had heard so many stories about the dangerous Akatsuki and how evil they were, but this was an ordinary home. Albeit a bit strange to be built in a rock face, but everything seemed so…commonplace. The people were rather strange, however. He especially didn't like Tobi – too irritating.

This was far better than being with the others, though. Even if Sasori didn't give him much attention, at least he didn't feel so lost when it was just the two of them.

The red head, however, resented any time away from his room. There was work to be done and here he was giving this irritating blonde a grand tour.

He opened the door in front of him and stepped through into the kitchen next to the refrigerator. "The pantry goes through to the kitchen," he glanced at the table where the others had been eating earlier. The entire room was completely empty. _Good_, he thought. As much as he hated being a tour guide, he would resent it even more so if anyone saw him reduce himself to such levels.

"That's it, your home." Sasori turned and walked toward the stairs up to where the rooms were. Hopefully this setup wouldn't be permanent. Of all the replacements…his features twitched at the thought. If nothing else, perhaps he could get some work done. If the brat was smart enough, he would go outside and train a little, leaving Sasori to himself.

The blonde was taken aback at the sudden dismissal he received. As his partner retreated to their room once more, Deidara decided to follow him – after all, his partner hadn't actually told him to leave.

Sasori made no move to acknowledge his presence until they reached their door. Rounding on his partner, he gave the slightest hint of a frown and said in an unnaturally calm voice, "What do you want now?"

"You said I could ask questions, un," came the reply, his face lit up in a cheery smile.

Completely disarmed by the bright innocence of the kid, Sasori muttered, "Hn," and entered the room, sat at his desk, and began tinkering with the wood pieces lying on it.

"Ne, Sasori-san," Deidara bounded over to his bed and barely stopped himself from collapsing on it, "what happened with Hidan's head?"

"Hidan is immortal and Kakuzu can reattach his limbs, so Kakuzu gets a free shot at him when he gets angry." Back turned, the red head never ceased working on the block he had in his hands.

"Oh, un. So where did that other door in that big cave lead?" He settled to lying down on the flooring by Sasori's bed (where there wasn't too much dust).

"Sir Leader's chambers," was the short response.

Deidara was really starting to enjoy himself. Completely oblivious to Sasori's obvious displeasure at having to answer such stupid questions, he turned over onto his stomach and began drawing pictures in the dust next to him. He'd get to cleaning up sometime later. "Sooo…Zetsu – did I meet him? And what does he eat then if he doesn't like the food in the kitchen?"

"No and people."

"Nani!?" His hand slipped over his dust picture of a bird, marring the face, as he looked up.

Sasori continued whittling away at the piece of wood, not taking any notice of the startled blonde. He truly missed the silence his old partner used to give him and the silence left after-

"Wait, what!? He eats people!?" Deidara broke into his thoughts, apparently seeking confirmation.

Sasori chose to ignore him. The stupid request didn't apply to questions he had already answered as far as he was concerned.

Realizing he wasn't going to get any further reply from the red head and deciding that whoever Zetsu was, he would avoid him, the blonde returned to the floor sketch, trying to cover up the line through the bird's head. Quickly giving it up as a lost cause, he rose, dusting off his hands and another question came to mind. "So why is only half the room so dirty, Sasori-san?"

The red head stopped his ministrations and stared straight ahead at the blank stone wall for a moment. "Get out, brat," he murmured quietly.

"But-"

"Now," his voice rose ever so slightly, but Deidara took it as a signal to shut up and he slipped out as quickly and quietly as possible.

Now alone, Sasori glared at the wood in front of him. However innocently it was meant, the topic had been raised. He had no urge to speak about it with other members, so why would he bother with discussing it with this kid. No longer interested in working on his art, he turned in his chair and stared at the untouched side of the room absently.

* * *

A/N: Nyah!! Sumimasen! Its so short, but Ive been so busy all week!! Plus I know what I plan on doing in the next chapter and I couldnt think of what else to put in here because I was too excited lolz. Enjoy!! And yesh SasoDei fans, yaoi will come later, but fluffyness gives stories depth so bear with me 3 


	5. Battle for Respect

From the moment he had been ousted from his room, Deidara had made use of his time by further exploring every inch of the Akatsuki dwelling. This way, he could devise ways in which he could avoid those he didn't want to come in contact with. For example, if he was going to try to stay away from that Zetsu, he ought to know where to go to hide himself – or at least detours he could take to evade him. Twice already had his scheme been useful as Tobi had passed by humming a happy melody.

After an hour or two, he was convinced that he had familiarized himself with the entire layout of the interior and settled on going into the living room and watching some television. It seemed every member was occupied elsewhere, giving him the run of the house. Therefore, he could easily enjoy any program he wanted, which was a great novelty considering he had never seen a TV until he was a chuunin.

Stretching and yawning, the blonde collapsed onto the biggest, squashiest chair and flipped on the television.

Sasori deemed himself bored after about two hours of dozing off. It was aggravating; recently, he found himself unable to get enough rest at nights and found himself exhausted in the afternoons. Hidan would offhandedly diagnose him with the sickness called "old age" (in which case, Sasori would respond by chopping off his head), but he knew it lay deeper than that by the feeling in his stomach, if only he could place it.

Picking himself up out of the chair he had nodded off in, he decided to find that irritating blonde and make sure he hadn't destroyed the headquarters completely. The air was so silent that as he passed by Itachi's room, he heard faint but distinct sounds coming from inside. He couldn't help but let a tiny, amused smile cross his lips however worse his stomach twisted.

A bloodcurdling yell erupted from a floor below, making his smile widen slightly.

"Watch where you shove that fucking needle, dammit!"

"I'll stick it in your eye if you can't shut your mouth!" Kakuzu roared back.

"You wouldn't – okay! Okay!"

Hidan and Kakuzu fell silent and Sasori finished his walk down the stairs quite uneventfully.

"Eurgh! People watch this stuff, un? Its so boring, un!" he heard the blonde say from the other room as the familiar sound of the TV being shut off greeted his ears. Turning the corner, the red head spotted Deidara reclining in Sasori's favorite place, looking a bit disappointed.

Choosing to ignore the unoccupied blonde, he chose a seat furthest away from the television, giving the mess on one of the couches a rather dirty look. Pale hands picked up a book and he began scanning the pages for something of interest.

Deidara, quite happy that Sasori wasn't mad at him anymore – although he couldn't understand what had gotten him so upset – and hesitant to start another argument, looked over the back of his chair at the red head and asked something that he absolutely had to know, "Sasori-san, can I at least clean my side of the room, un?"

"Do whatever you want – I'm not your mother." His dull brown eyes raced up and down the pages as he spoke.

"Aw! But there's so much, un! Can't you help me?" Deidara whined as he propped his head up with his hands.

Sasori lifted his gaze to stare into the others' blue eyes. "New members perform menial tasks. If you want it done, do it yourself." Without another word, he returned to the pages of his book and began immersing himself in human anatomy.

No use arguing a lost cause. Sighing, the blonde rose and walked to the recliner closest to the red head. There was no doubt about it, this jerk was definitely the guy from yesterday. _Looks can be so deceiving_, he thought as he studied the youthful face of his companion. He had always assumed young people were nice, helpful and had no reason to act like bitter old men. But his partner proved everything wrong.

"How old are you, un?" He cocked his head again.

The book in Sasori's hands slammed shut and he stared long and hard at Deidara. "Definitely older than you are, brat."

"Stop calling me a brat, un. You aren't older than me," he retorted indignantly.

Sasori scowled at being talked back to. "I have been in the Akatsuki longer than you have been alive, so my rank as compared to yours gives me the right to call you whatever I like," he said coldly, staring unemotionally into cerulean orb not hidden by hair.

This was so unfair. Why couldn't anyone treat him as an equal? "Stop acting so superior to me! I'm not a kid and you can't be older than me, un!" He was starting to get angry. Standing up, he looked down at the nonplussed red head. Deidara was twenty, so there was no way this kid could have any years on him.

Completely unruffled, Sasori kept his seat and picked up his book again. "I am older and superior to you – its as simple as that."

Irritated further by his partner's lack of interest in even fighting for his cause, Deidara snatched the book from the red head's hands and glared down at him. "Fight me, un! If you're so superior, beat me! And if I win, you stop calling me brat and you help me clean the mess you left on my side of the room, un."

Aside from narrowing his eyes dangerously, Sasori kept his face impassive and rose. "Fine."

It was a good thing Sasori took it upon himself to find the place for their standoff – Deidara still didn't know of any location where training or fighting could take place. Still frustrated, he instead followed the red head up the stairs past their bedroom and up to a trapdoor in the ceiling. Upon being opened, a bright ray of sunlight poured through the hole and the pleasant scent of grass greeted his nostrils. The two emerged from the opening without a word and found their places on the turf, approximately 10 meters from one another.

Suddenly Deidara was thankful that he didn't keep all his stash in one place. He still had his regular pouches with him – just enough clay to help him in a single battle.

Sasori, on the other hand, cursed being too irked by the blonde's words to properly prepare himself.

Simultaneously, the two began. The red head plunged his hand down the back of his sweatshirt and pulled out a scroll. Deft hands unrolled it, releasing the seal that contained what was within. With a popping noise, a life-size wooden puppet was revealed.

The blonde unzipped the two bags at his side and thrust his hands in. His once ordinary hands developed mouths on the palms that began eating the clay. Now all he had to do was wait. Until then he would find a way to fight hand to hand – his least favorite style, especially seeing Sasori's weapon was a puppet. That indicated that his partner took a fancy to short-ranged attacks, giving him the advantage for the moment. Nonetheless, Deidara considered himself relatively fast and, if need be, he only needed to avoid attacks until his clay was ready.

Sasori took no time to be astonished that the brat hadn't made any visible effort to thwart him or at least take out a suitable weapon. It only served to further disappointed him at Sir Leader's decision. Even so, he wasted no time in attacking first. Attaching almost invisible chakra strings from each of his fingers to the puppet in critical points, he brought the wooden doll to life and it leapt towards the idle blonde.

As it lunged forward, Deidara quickly sidestepped it and ran the opposite way it had come. To his surprise, it easily changed directions in midair and went after him. Only then did it hit him that this piece of wood was being controlled by an outside force so it would be able to move any way humans could not. That made his task of evading it much more difficult.

Slightly irked that he would have to use hands on techniques against this puppet in order to defeat Sasori, he jumped into a nearby tree and sprang back out to at least bypass the doll on its way for him. As he flew past it, he dug his hands into other pouches and withdrew two shuriken, flinging them for the thing's body thus successfully knocking it off course for a moment.

Sasori immediately flicked a finger and it switched directions once more. With another twitch of the fingers, the wooden arm of the puppet flipped open to reveal a long blade protruding from the wrist. It dove towards the blonde, knife first and Deidara escaped it with a substitution jutsu. The red head twitched his mouth downward into a slight frown. This puppet was his most useless. Spotting Deidara taking refuge in the tree again, he urged his wooden creation forward once more. This battle was absolutely frivolous. What good was this ridiculous blonde kid? There was no aptitude in him at all if all he could do in battle was defend himself. Might as well end this quickly.

As Deidara used the trunk of the tree to push himself away from the oncoming weapon, he noticed a change in the movements of it. Grabbing onto the branch he had been perched on before he went too far, he swung himself down from the limb instead of out. As he had suspected, fire came shooting out of the mouth of the puppet exactly where he would have been should he have continued with his course of action. Damn, was his partner trying to kill him!? Shoes connected with grass in a soft landing and he bolted in another direction to distance himself from that lethal weapon.

Looking at his hands as his feet continued to pound the earth, he could still see the mouths chewing on the clay. _Still not finished_! He should have had some coffee like Sasori had – it might have sped up this time-consuming process.

Clicking sounds told him the puppet wasn't going to be left behind and he about faced, stopping and looking directly at the puppet. The doll also halted, seeming to stare him down with those lifeless eyes. At a closer proximity, he had to admit the craftsmanship of the woodwork was flawless and he might have admired it had it not been attempting to kill him.

Almost immediately, his wonder was interrupted when the chest opened to start shooting multiple needles at him. With no time to dodge it, he took out his kunai and tried to deflect as many as possible, alarmed as the mercilessness of the re head. When the assault was completed, his legs and torso were utterly unharmed as a result of his efforts, but the right hand he had used to guard himself was dreadfully bloodied up. His right cheek also sustained a few fine cuts.

This was irritating beyond all reason! How could it still not be finished!? This time he rushed for the puppet and veered off slightly to the left to avoid being slashed at by the blade-arm. The doll followed him with the strange clacking sounds it made and he stopped again, allowing the wooden weapon to get ahead of him.

Deidara leapt upwards towards it and it followed suit. Perfect. Aiming a powerful roundhouse kick into the puppet's back, he effectively sent it crashing into the ground below. Once he landed, he tore off closer to where they had started the fight. An recognizable odd sensation came from his hands and each mouth spit out a lump of clay. The blonde came up with an idea and mashed the clay together. When his hands had spread apart, a centipede approximately ten centimeters long lay where the shapeless mass had been moments before.

Sasori had no idea what the blonde was doing. Cocky little fool thinking he had defeated him? Ha! All it took was a jerk of his hand and the doll sprung once more to life and shot after Deidara.

Which was exactly what the Iwa nin wanted. As soon as the puppet was within striking distance, he lashed at the shoulder of the thing with his kunai, giving the centipede a chance to latch onto the wood. He leapt away from the scene with a "Hmph," and focused his chakra. Suddenly the insect was ten times its old size and had wrapped completely around the doll. Not wasting a second, Deidara focused again and yelled, "Katsu!" With a great show of light and smoke, the living clay exploded, destroying the puppet along with it.

Although not expecting that at all, the surprised red head wasted no time in reacting. With the smoke giving him an advantage, he finally leapt into action.

Deidara was quite pleased with himself and was thoroughly surprised when the figure of his partner came rushing out of the haze. It took no effort on Sasori's part to pin the blonde to the ground with two kunai at his throat.

"I told you I was your superior," his calm voice held a small hint of smugness.

Still pinned, the blonde's heart sank through to the basement so many floors below. In fact, he almost wanted to cry now. His blue eyes began to glisten as they filled with tears of anger and anguish. But he was determined not to cry in front of this asshole, so he pushed the red head off him and bit his lip to stop the tears from flowing before replying sarcastically, "Yes, Sasori no danna!"

Something panged in his stomach when Sasori looked and heard the pitiful blonde. It was so obvious that he was trying hard not cry and he thought about making a nasty remark about it, but found his lips didn't feel like forming those words. Instead, he stood up and began walking back towards the open trapdoor, muttering softly, "Let's go back inside, Deidara."

Far too upset to notice at first, the blonde took the opportunity to wipe his eyes when Sasori turned his back. Wait. What? "Un?" Had the red head said what he thought had said? "Did you just say my name?" Never mind there was no honorific; just the use of his real name instead of 'brat' was a major plus.

"Yes," the retreating figure stopped but didn't bother to turn around. "I already told you – I can call you whatever I want."

"But that's the first time you bothered to call me 'Deidara,' un." Merrily forgetting the incident that had occurred minutes before, Deidara rose and walked over to Sasori. "That means you don't look down on me so much anymore, un."

How could this kid be so moody? He was going to break into tears a mere five minutes before and now he had the outrageous idea that Sasori had respect for him? The red head couldn't remember any point of life where he had such fluxing moods. He wanted to get one thing very straight so he said as the blonde walked by, "I don't respect you, I don't think you are my equal, and I don't enjoy your presence, brat."

"Whatever you say, danna," came the happy reply and, with a broad smile, Deidara walked straight past the confused red head without a look in his direction.

Danna? Was that his new name or something? How odd. Albeit it was rather flattering if he took it to its literal meaning, but something told him the title was being used with an underlying sarcastic meaning.

He stood there a moment longer considering his strange companion. No, he didn't exactly think of him as his own equal, but he now had a bit more respect for him. He had totally forgotten until the moment of the explosion that the ninja from Iwagakure had been a wanted bomber. Though his weakness was in short-ranged attacks, his technique would be quite useful if put to use from a distance. Thus the two would be an ideal team – however much he resented admitting it. At least he wasn't so disappointed with Sir Leader's choice anymore.

But that said nothing about his personal feelings for the blonde. What an irritating, cocky brat. One word and his entire meaning had been misinterpreted. In addition, he was far too emotional. Grown men don't cry – he himself couldn't remember ever crying in his life – and it isn't humanly possible to go from the verge of tears to utter elation within the course of two minutes. Then there was the one, inescapable truth: happy people pissed him off. Plenty of times had he barely restrained himself from brutally torturing and murdering Tobi.

He scowled and looked back towards the "roof" entrance to the Akatsuki hideout. Deidara had long since gone, which was all well and good in his opinion. With a growl that didn't befit his youthful voice and appearance, he followed the blonde's example of disappearing through the trapdoor and sealed it behind him. Hopefully he wouldn't find Deidara in the room again. Even though that puppet had been his least favorite and the most inadequate (I mean, hey, it didn't even have poison coating on any weapons), he was still one doll short. He'd have to get started on another to make the loss even.

Opening the door to their room, he noticed with annoyance, that his new partner was indeed already there. His displeasure was replaced with that unfamiliar feeling in his stomach when he heard soft whimpering sounds coming from the bathroom. Immediately curious, he followed the noises and found Deidara trying to bandage his slashed up hand with the use of only his left, and obviously not dominant hand, flinching each time he pulled to tight or missed the mark.


	6. Much Nicer

Without thinking, Sasori found his feet walking towards the blonde. Deidara was unaware of the approaching red head until he had stopped directly in front of him and, raising eyes void of all emotion, stuck his hand out, palm upwards. 

Startled at the sudden appearance of his partner during his failing ministrations, Deidara gasped and jumped backwards, very nearly dropping the bandaging onto the floor. "I'm sorry, I'll hurry, un," he whispered, obviously embarrassed that Sasori had to see him making such a fuss over a cut hand.

The puppet master rose an eyebrow in irritation. How could the blonde not notice that he had his hand out. It wasn't kept there because it was a fashionable pose that all red heads ought to partake in.

The sculptor chanced a look at the other and almost regretted it.

One advantage to being shorter than average was that if you wanted to be condescending to anyone, it was best not to grace them with raising your head to look at them. Staring at your victim from underneath the brows effectively gives off a very intimidating air. Therefore, Sasori chose to use that tactic more often than not. It saved him the effort of twitching his unemotional face into a frown and it protected his pride by letting all around him know he didn't look up to anyone.

Thus, Deidara was successfully intimidated – mission complete.

But while he noticed the puppeteer's annoyed features, he also realized a hand was held out in front of him. For a moment unsure, he hesitatingly placed the bandages into the outstretched palm. It would be a bit awkward if that hadn't been what Sasori had been wordlessly asking for – especially since he had just recently tried to kill him.

However, the smooth, pale hand grasped the wrappings and he began unraveling them serenely while the Rock shinobi watched in confusion. Was he really going to fix his hand? This kid – okay, he had to admit; whether or not Sasori was older than him, he did defeat him in battle so calling him a kid probably wasn't the right step in accepting the fact – had mercilessly attacked him with every intention on defeating him, dead or alive, and now was going to dress the wounds he had inflicted? He wouldn't complain, however, this less predictable Sasori was more likable than the asshole from previously.

He felt his hand being taken up by his partners' and winced as he looked down. Fine cuts tended to hurt the most. In addition, the blonde didn't care much for blood – another reason why he had taken up long distance fighting methods.

Instead, he took to examining anything other than the task at hand. His gaze locked onto the red head. When he kept his mouth shut, the puppet master seemed to be capable of being nice. Perhaps he had changed now that Deidara had proven he could fight – sort of.

In order to exercise the full use of his hands and end the procedure as quickly as possible, Sasori had placed the end of the wrappings in his mouth and had focused his whole attention to the task at hand. It made him look (dare he say it?) somewhat cute – that is, as in a child would – to the blonde. If the puppeteer was to be believed, Deidara was still in awe at how young he appeared. The only things on his smooth, flawless face that suggested any age were his eyes. His being older than he looked explained the dull, lifeless gaze they gave out as well as the dark circles underneath them as if he hadn't gotten sufficient sleep in years.

When he had completed what he had been doing, the puppet master held the bandaged hand in his for a moment longer and inspected it to ensure he hadn't missed anything – nothing worse than a sloppy job.

Deidara blushed in response to Sasori's intense attention to his hand. _Why is he still holding my hand_? He thought to himself nervously.

Obviously unaware of how uncomfortable his partner was getting, the red head finally broke his silence as he released the dressed appendage. "Accept what you're given whether you like it or not. The fact that you are even allowed in here says something about what Sir Leader expects of you." He turned away and began making his way towards the workstation again, twisting his neck back around slightly to add, "I don't believe you have any right to be in these halls, but I don't make the decisions. So stop fighting everything and be grateful." With that, the red head took his seat and started up his fiddling with the wooden pieces again.

The blonde blinked. He had been partially right. Yes, Sasori was indeed an ass, ergo nothing had really changed. However, he was also unpredictable. What was up with this guy? Dammit! First he politely answers questions, gets mad at him, fights him as if to kill him, dresses his wounds, and then finishes it all with an offhand rude comment. Almost everything that had been done so far that day had contradicted what he had done before.

This remark deserved a response to redeem himself, though. "I am grateful! You could at least treat me as an equal whether you believe it or not, un." Looking down, he scuffed a line in the dust with his sandal as he muttered his last words.

The red head slowly turned to face him. His tone never left its monotone as he said with a calm expression, "Understand this. You are new. None of us have any idea as to your abilities and we will not recognize you at an equal status with us until you have proven yourself worthy." Although calm and uninterested, his voice had a slight edge that routed all argument and he returned to his work. As an afterthought, he added, "And it might be useful to realize that I don't take much to being polite for the sake of avoiding offence."

Judging the matter to be at rest and quite unwilling to involve himself in another dispute, Deidara decided to get to work on the room. It still rather irked him that the red head couldn't even offer to help considering he had neglected to clean it for so long in the first place, but…eh…whatever. It was part of the wager over the fight and he had lost fair and square.

After taking off his shoes because it was so much easier to clean the house bare foot, he began to poke around the various drawers and cupboards in the room. In this way, the sculptor discovered that there was storage space built into the base of the beds. They functioned as a cross between a bed and a dresser – spiffy, but not what he needed. Because he doubted his was full of clothing as Sasori's was, he opened the compartments under his but was greeted only by dusty cobwebs and sulking spiders. Squeaking his surprise at the sight of the creepy arachnids, he shut the drawers quickly and placed as much distance as he could between him and his bed.

Obviously the bedside tables only held personal belongings so he wouldn't find what he sought there and the drawers in his private desk were too small to have anything of interest in them – if anything. So moved onto the closet beside the red head's workstation and opened the door slowly. The moment he flicked on the light, he almost died of a heart attack (how many heart attacks had he had that day?) and leapt backwards, almost toppling into his preoccupied partner. The Sasori he had been greeted with yesterday stared him in the face from his corner of the storage room.

"What- what-?" the blonde stammered.

The other Sasori grumbled at having to avoid being hit by the startled blonde but otherwise ignored him.

Seeming to regain the use of his tongue, the Iwa nin swallowed and managed, "What is that, un?"

Obviously annoyed at now being forced to explain, he merely said, "My disguise."

"But its so real…"

"It's a puppet."

The red head offered no further explanation and the blonde didn't press. Instead he took a quick look around and, finding only clothes, shoes, that creepy puppet, a store of extra wood, and a huge collection of neatly arranged phials of assorted colors and sizes, he abandoned the closet. Although the compilation of whatever was kept in those containers mildly interested him, the figure that, until early this morning, he had taken for a real person weirded him out a little too much for comfort.

Now he moved onto the bathroom. His efforts were finally rewarded upon inspecting the first cupboard below the sink. The blonde pulled out a duster, cleaning solution, a small broom, and a cleaning cloth. Opening the cabinet adjacent to the one that housed those items, Deidara found an extra set of sheets and blankets and extracted those as well. With a sudden idea, he also found some pesticide with the other cleaners – he didn't really feel like getting anywhere near his bed if spiders lived in it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent clearing his side of the room of the dust that had collected all over the place. It wasn't that bad after all. Aside from dissolving into a fit of sneezes a few times, the work was rather enjoyable and actually easy. All he really had to do was feather dust and sweep up the debris on the floor and furniture, then use the cleaner to make everything sparkle (and smell good, too). The bed was easiest. He merely stripped the bed covers from it and redressed the mattress with clean and dust-free blankets. In addition, he had completely forgotten about his hand. Granted, the cuts would ache from time to time, but altogether, Sasori had done a good job.

Afore mentioned red head hadn't bothered getting up during the time Deidara had been preoccupied with his cleaning. He hadn't really felt any need to. The blonde was getting along just fine and, besides occasional bouts of humming and bursts of song to while away the time, Deidara had been relatively quiet. In fact he was just beginning to work on the last piece of his new puppet when the sculptor appeared over his shoulder with a grin.

"Done!" he practically sung into the red head's ear making him jump ever so slightly. "You should look – its so much nicer now, un!"

"No," replied Sasori shortly, trying to smooth over the nick his knife had made in the fresh wood.

Significantly put off by his partner's lack of enthusiasm, Deidara moved away and sat on the foot of Sasori's bed, brooding a bit over his luck. Quiet people were so boring and aloof people were mean. Just his luck to get someone who was a cross between them both. If nothing else, maybe he could engage the other in friendly conversation like before – he'd merely have to be wary of treading on that dangerous ground again.

His face lit up once more and he turned to Sasori. "So, do you make your battle puppets, un?"

The puppeteer was well aware that he was still supposed to answer questions, but there was no rule that said he had to be polite about them. "What does it look like I'm doing, brat?"

Quite offended at the adoption of that loathsome title again, the blonde shot the back of his head a glare but decided it wasn't worth another fight so he defended himself instead. "There's lots of stuff made of wood, un." That probably wasn't the best way of going about this, so he added sincerely, dropping his indignant tone, "Anyway, they're really good. I didn't think people actually made puppets like that, un."

Stunned, Sasori half turned to face his partner. No one had admired his art before. Well, his work was distributed to puppet masters all over, but they were weapons and not to be admired, but feared. Unsure of how to respond, he merely murmured, "Hn," and returned to shaping the hand he had been working on.

"So, well," Deidara shifted a bit uncomfortably, "I'm sorry for messing up your puppet."

The other stopped his work again in surprise. "…its fine." In actuality, it turned out to be a good excuse to replace that dismal doll. It was utterly worthless and one of his first human puppets; therefore, it lacked the desirable hidden compartments, the special attachments, and the characteristic poison of some sort. So now, he could create another better one to substitute for it without having to throw it away. But it wasn't as if he would actually admit that to anyone – best let that blonde think he was mad about it.

"Do you usually fight with puppets, un?" Deidara murmured, trying to get off that topic.

"Hn. Yes. I have advanced in making and wielding them over the years," came the response. He turned around to face the blonde. This was generally why he liked silence. If he spoke or got too distracted by conversation, the puppeteer was likely to ruin whatever was in hand.

"I fight with clay, un! Explosions are my specialty!" Deidara grinned.

"So why did you wait so long to use them against me?" The red head inquired tonelessly.

"Un, well, it takes a while to get ready, so I usually prepare beforehand, un."

Sasori was chagrined to find he was starting to get interested in the topic. He found himself asking, "How did you do it?"

Delighted at having been asked something about his most prized feature, the blonde answered happily, "My kekkei genkai!" With that, he extended his hands towards the inwardly astonished puppet master as two mouths formed on the upward facing palms, one of them sticking its tongue out.

Sasori was careful not to let his face show his curiosity. He was also determined not to act as if he wanted to know anymore, although he couldn't help but wonder how they worked. Saving him from the pride-depleting show of interest and the agony of ignorance, the blonde delved into explanation without any provocation.

"So, I always have a pouch of clay on me, and when I know there is going to be fighting, I put my hands into it, un. My palmouths eat the clay and infuse it with my chakra then spit it back out, un. Now I have a bomb in my hand that I shape into something useful like a bird or a bug and it comes to life and does my bidding until its in the right place. Then I can explode it at will, un!"

His eyes shone in excitement as if that was the best part of the whole story. Personally, the red head couldn't see what was so great about blowing up your sculptures after you had spent time making them. He thought it was more fascinating how the chakra infusion took place and vaguely wondered if the trait would carry onto the puppet if he used Deidara at some point – perhaps when he had really grown fed up with him. But…eh…the two might fight well together if he could figure out how to work it, so no need for something like that.

Anyway, might as well let him know. "Is there any way you can get away from the battle? You are horrible at close range combat and might be useful if you can stay at a distance." Nice and frank – after all, beating around the bush was a waste of time.

The blonde ignored the insult and replied enthusiastically, "Yep, un! That's how I always work!"

It didn't seem like he was planning on going into any more detail and the puppeteer had no intention of lowering himself to press the matter.

A loud gurgle cut through the momentary quiet. "Eurgh, I'm hungry, danna, un," Deidara moaned, wrapping his arms around his middle.

Sasori scowled. Apparently that was his new name? He had thought it was only temporary. How irritating, but it wasn't as if he could actually complain – he was being called 'master' after all.

In any case, he looked over to the clock sitting on his workstation. _Five o'clock already? Hn_, he thought. Bringing his gaze back over to the blonde, he said monotonously, "Dinner might be ready downstairs by now. But if you're the first down there, you're responsible for making the meal for everyone."

At the moment he didn't care. How long had it been since he had eaten? Nine hours? Goodness, had cleaning been that interesting? No wonder his stomach felt so empty now that he thought about it. Oh well, if he had to make the food, that was fine; as long as he could eat something. "Okay, un!"

Springing up, the sculptor dashed to the door before a thought came to him, "What about you, Sasori no danna? Aren't you hungry, un?"

The red head had just turned to his work again when the other spoke to him. He froze and looked up at the blank stone wall in front of him, the silence stretching as he searched for the proper response. It seemed best to leave it at, "No."

Thankfully, Deidara didn't question and left the red head to his thoughts. He had been right, the room did look a lot nicer.

* * *

A/N: Yay! I have recently rediscovered the word 'shinobi' as a better sounding substitute for 'ninja.' Silly me Anyway, sorry for the wait. But technically since I did post 2 chapters last week, this is the one for this week lolz. Sorry its so boring, too! Im building up, I promise!!!


	7. Dinner for Two

The smell of sautéed chicken permeated his senses and Deidara increased his pace as he made his way down the stairs. It was a little irritating to live in the room furthest away from everything else, but hey, maybe he could get some exercise. Now that he lived somewhere, he would get less workouts, so his optimistic mind saw stair climbing as a good way to stay fit.

When he came upon the kitchen, he saw Itachi sitting at the dining table, opening a box of coconut pocky, and Kisame standing by the stove on the other side of the counter, looking ridiculous in an apron with a kitty on it.

"Hey Deidara," the blue man grinned. The smile quickly slipped at the look of revulsion on the blonde's face. Noticing Deidara's stare was focused around his middle, he looked down and laughed. "Its not mine. We only have one apron in the house, courtesy Kakuzu's money-pinching. Needless to say, it was the cheapest one." Letting out another hearty laugh, he turned back to the skillet on the stove and prodded the sizzling meat with a spatula.

Deidara had decided early on that Kisame was his favorite member. He seemed so much nicer than everyone else, despite his rather frightening visage. Aside from Tobi, who Deidara didn't count, he was also the only one of them that had actually tried talking with him. And, apparently he was a good cook.

Over the sounds coming from the frying chicken, a loud growl from the sculptors stomach could be heard. Kisame looked over in surprise and amusement. "No worries, dinner will be ready soon. Hey, what are you doing!?" Catching sight of the black haired young man eating the icing covered sticks, the blue cook quickly dashed over and snatched them away with a scowl. "What did I tell you about eating candy right before dinner!?"

Itachi said nothing, but merely stared at Kisame with a very reproachful look in his red eyes.

The other man seemed less than phased by the glare he was receiving and returned to the stove to fiddle with the food again after he had put the box of pocky on top of the cabinets where only he could retrieve it. Every now and then, he poked the contents of the frying pan to see if it was ready.

As if struck by a thought, he turned to Deidara. "Do you cook?"

"Erm, I guess so, un. Why?" he replied hesitantly, unsure of what he was supposed to say. Truth be told, he considered himself an expert chef after having to provide himself with food or else starve for a long time, but perhaps that wasn't the answer Kisame was anticipating.

"That's good, cuz Sasori can't." At this, he and Itachi exchanged an meaningful look and Deidara couldn't help but feel that he was somehow being left out of the loop.

Apparently neither of them were planning on elaborating, either, so the blonde spoke up, "Um…why does that…erm…matter, un?"

Looking up from the sautéing meat again, the blue man merely shrugged. His laid back tone contrasted so greatly with that shared look that the sculptor still felt he was missing something. "Partners should have at least one person who can make meals sufficiently," he stressed the last word with a reproving look at his partner.

"I can cook," the other spoke up quietly. Deidara recognized that indifferent tone as one that his own partner frequently used.

"Well I won't let you. All you can make is shark-fin soup and you know how I feel about that!" Kisame pointed the spatula at his partner in a reprimanding manner.

At that, the black haired man's calm face broke into the tiniest of amused smiles. The blonde didn't exactly find that funny, but the apathetic had weird senses of humor anyway

"Dammit!" A grumble coming from the doorway announced Hidan's arrival. Deidara noted with interest that his head was properly secured back in place by a series of threads stitched along the point at which it had been separated from his body. "When are we going on another mission? Jashin will be angry with me if I don't give him a sacrifice soon."

"Shut up and stop complaining." His partner followed closely behind him. "That god of yours isn't even real so I don't see why you bother about it all the time," Kakuzu growled as he took a seat next to Itachi.

The Jashinist looked affronted and turned away, his arms crossed. "He is too. You're just a fucking heathen, so you wouldn't understand."

Whatever the stitched up man had been planning on retorting was cut off by Kisame's sharp voice. "Alright, dinner's done. Hidan, go find Tobi or you'll be the one setting the table."

However, Hidan was spared a response when everyone heard a crashing from the stairwell. "Owie! Zetsu-senpai, why'd you push me?" Tobi could be heard whining.

A reply came in the form of a voice that sent chills down Deidara's spine. "We didn't do anything. You tripped."

But the voice was nothing compared to what greeted his eyes. The man following Tobi was the farthest from 'man' that Deidara had yet to see. Great leaves like a Venus fly trap encased his shoulders and rose far above his head to grin evilly at the ceiling. His skin was two different colors – the right half of his body was white and the left was black – and his eyes were an eerie yellow orange.

The plant man didn't acknowledge Deidara's stare and sat at a seat that seemed designated for him.

No one else seemed surprised at the appearance of this other member, so Deidara had to assume he always looked like this. How dreadful.

Kisame grinned widely with his sharp teeth as he dished out the chicken. Tobi rushed around the table, trying to set the places before the blue man got to them.

Zetsu watched the masked one unblinkingly, a smile creeping up on his white side. A voice different from before came from his mouth when he said, "Tobi is a good boy."

"YES! Because I told Zetsu-senpai that we were having chicken because I know how much you like it!!" Tobi blurted out excitedly, almost tripping over a chair leg.

But Zetsu seemed to have lost interest in the conversation and was staring at his chicken with the same blank look.

Once they were all served, everyone dug into the meal – which, surprisingly enough, was delicious, considering it had been prepared by a rather scary looking individual – and the room fell silent for a moment. Deidara was quite happy being quiet for the moment anyway. These people were all fascinating and interesting to watch, but he didn't feel comfortable enough to have long engaged conversations with them.

However, the hush was only temporary. One by one, each person broke their silence. Kakuzu and Hidan could be heard arguing quietly over a piece of chicken that Hidan had supposedly flung at his partner. Itachi was calmly insisting he had his pocky returned to him while Kisame was adamantly refusing, telling the other he needed to eat dinner first. Deidara could make out Zetsu speaking to himself in two distinctly separate voices  
("We like chicken, don't we?"  
"**Yes, it tastes like our favorite food when cooked**."  
"It's a shame we finished her already."  
"**Yes, she was delicious**."  
"Worth the fight she put up."),  
which creeped him out to all ends. Nobody seemed to notice that Sasori was missing. Perhaps because the blonde was occupying the extra seat? He frowned in thought but was interrupted by Tobi, who had felt left out of the other conversations and decided to involve himself in one. Deidara found himself quite occupied trying to shake off the eager young man for the rest of the meal.

------------------------------------------------

Sasori stared off into space for a while after his partner left. He seemed to have been doing that a lot since about six months ago. Eurgh, no time for such wasteful activities. He roused himself from his stupor and looked back at his work desk. The pieces were rough outlines of what he had in mind to create. But, lacking the proper…materials, he had left them as they were until now. But, since he was now alone, he could acquire what he needed to complete his project without that irritating blonde bothering him incessantly.

The red head rose and moved to his bed, taking his Akatsuki cloak from the drawers as he removed his sweatshirt. Wrapping the coat around himself, he grabbed a scroll and shoved it up his right sleeve. It passed his mind briefly to bring his disguise, but he quickly discarded that as foolish because he was trying to be stealthy. In the closet, he opened various phials and dipped a few kunai and medical needles into their dark contents, mentally taking note of which weapon had what poison on it. Securing the containers and closing the closet, he soundlessly slipped out the door.

Now his plan would be ruined if he was seen leaving the house by any of the louder and more nosy members, so he proceeded with caution. Luckily, he had learned from practice which steps creaked and where, so he carefully avoided them as he made his swift way down the stair well.

Voices came from the kitchen and he peered around the last corner to inspect the situation. Hoshigaki Kisame was wearing that outrageous apron as he cooked something over the stove and Deidara and Itachi were sitting at the table. Honestly, who wore that ludicrous piece of cloth? They would never succeed in getting it replaced if Kakuzu thought the rest of them were satisfied with it.

Tearing his mind from the subject, he timed it so that everyone was looking away and swept past the kitchen doorway and slipped out of the front door into the vast cavern.

Sasori let a tiny smile pass over his lips. Free again. He vaguely remembered that nights could be chilly and made a mental note of checking his joints later. The cold had many troublesome effects.

As he hastily strode towards the large boulder entrance, he reviewed his objective. That girl was a perfect specimen. _What was her name again? Mabayui…yes, that's it_. Focusing his chakra to open the entrance, the puppeteer visualized her again. She had magnificent control over her own chakra and had lots of it. And as an ambassador for Konoha, she was gifted with incredible fire jutsus – which was perfect as the puppet that had been destroyed specialized in fire techniques.

He had been tailing the woman for the past few days and learned enough about her to know that she retired early and rose with the sun, she was staying at the inn known as The Leaping Shadow in Amegakure, and her last day here would be tomorrow. _Would have been_. He smirked in the dark as he stole from shadow to shadow.

It took no more than ten minutes to reach the village and he slowed his pace, completely ignoring those he passed in the streets. Those people weren't unaccustomed to seeing the black with red clouds, so he didn't worry. But seeing him in a rush would make many suspicious.

It wasn't a good idea to enter the inn itself. Too much attention could be shifted onto him in an instant if he in any way botched the job. Instead, he walked into the alley to the right of The Leaping Shadow. There was a rather convenient window opening from the cheery tavern onto the dingy passage.

A peek inside confirmed his assumption. She, just like the other Akatsuki members, was consuming a pleasant meal – thankfully alone.

Sasori marveled for a moment how great a contrast there was between an innocent shinobi and a member of such an evil organization. And yet, here both parties were, partaking in the same everyday activity at the same time. But he was different than them all.

That thought brought him out of his reverie with a scowl and he returned to the task at hand. With a flick of his wrist, two medical needles shot out of his sleeve and into his grasp. The window was already opened a crack so as to cool down the stuffy room, but it provided the perfect opportunity.

Readying his other hand, he aimed the needle at her neck and let it go. She gave out a small squeak when it struck flesh and almost immediately, her eyes began to droop. Sasori quickly attached chakra strings to her and caught her from falling into her stew. Carefully, he guided her up from her chair and out the front doors, timing it so that, as he walked out of the alleyway, she joined him and the two made their way from Ame. The long sleeves of the Akatsuki cloak concealed his constantly twitching fingers as each controlled various points of her body to keep her movements as natural as possible.

The red head thought back to his room before he left the town entirely. Since he was here, did he need anything? Eh, that was a rather long list to go over, so he shortened it to what he might require for the present. A large pad of sketching paper and twenty sharpened pencils sat in the drawer of his desk (_Good, sketch pads are getting expensive_.). He had stacks and stacks of wood, so no problem there. And his tools weren't lacking in number or variety. Fantastic. He might have to return for something menial, such as socks, but at least he was well stocked for the time being and he exited the village with the captured girl 'walking' at his side.

The poison in her system would last for about three hours – just enough time to complete what he had set out to do. Until then, Mabaya (_Or whatever her name is_.), would sleep soundly, her body completely unharmed save the wound in her neck.

Oh, did he have plans for her. He allowed another smirk to cross his expressionless face. If all went well, she wouldn't wake again. _Of course_, he thought as his sneer melted into a bitter frown, _if that brat interrupts, I might not have enough time_.

The two figures reached the Akatsuki entrance without incident and he guided his prisoner through the opening and towards the door leading to the regular members' quarters. Before opening the door, however, he pressed his ear to the painted wood and listened.

He couldn't have been more than thirty minutes away. It sounded as if dinner had just started. Chinks of silverware hitting plates and snippets of conversation could be made out through the barrier and he slowly turned the knob.

After sticking his head in to double check for anyone's presence, he glided in smoothly along with his human doll, waiting for the quiet latch of the door. He glanced into the kitchen for second. _Hmm…Zetsu actually joined them for dinner? Must be chicken_. he thought when he saw the fearsome figure of the plant man. Withdrawing his head once more, he rapidly climbed the stairs to avoid being seen. There really wasn't that much need for secrecy, but the longer he could keep the brat occupied and away from him, the more time he had to deal with this Konoha woman.

When he got to his room, Sasori made an effort to let no light enter the hallway before he closed the door behind him. This way one peering up the stairwell couldn't see that there was anything going on up there – especially if Tobi was going through another 'I'm-a-secret-agent-spy' phase and spying on every member at all times. Dear lord, if Tobi knew what he was up to, chances were, so would everyone else.

He set the woman's limp body on the floor and went to rummage through the closet and his desk to acquire the necessary materials. Inwardly he had to agree with Deidara; the floor had needed to be cleaned. The collected dust on the floor would get in her hair and make everything a lot less sanitary than it could be.

When he returned to the unconscious lady, he took note of her clothing and how it fit. It was a good thing it was so form fitting – everything was made much easier that way. The puppeteer took a tailor's measuring tape and recorded everything from her waist size to the distance around her forearms. Then he pulled out his paper and pencils and did a rough sketch of her body form and outline, making sure the proportions were exact.

Finished with his data collection and drawing, he set aside his materials and moved to the still form on the floor. Careful to leave the clothing intact for future use, he began removing the clothes from the woman.

* * *

A/N: Oh dear lord!! Sasori is a molestor!? WTF!!?? He draws women - oh my...faints  
Um, okay, I got this one up pretty fast, ne? Its a bit uneventful, but it works up to the whole plot Please let me know how you like it - reviews encourage me to update faster.  
As a side note: I heard from Eddy Izzard, the comedian, that he heard from a cannibal that humans taste like chicken, so I decided to include it. Sorry if my humor offended anyone, but I dont like chicken, ergo I am not a cannibal (lolz jkz, no worries) 


	8. Risqué Misunderstanding

**Warning:** This chapter has graphic images. No swearing (with the exception of 'damn'), very censored nudity (to the point that it doesnt even count), and no lemons (sorry, not yet). But, I ought to warn you about the bloodiness...

* * *

Deidara came up the steps to the fourth floor whistling a jaunty tune. Although he had had to deal with Tobi the entire evening, at least it had dawned on the masked man from their last encounter that the blonde didn't like him screaming in his ear. Now he felt included by two of the members because both he and Kisame had engaged him in conversation on their own accord.

In addition, Kakuzu had made a surprise batch of matcha ice cream for the organization to share and everything went smoothly for a while until Hidan picked a fight with his partner by complaining that the color wasn't quite right. Deidara couldn't find anything wrong with it and had finally come to the conclusion that the two of them would find any excuse to argue – which thoroughly amused him. So, in conclusion, the sculptor was able to eat a tasty dessert while watching two men fling every insult imaginable at one another. It was fantastic.

Now he was full and tired, but in a wonderfully good mood. He'd go up to his room, take a shower, get changed and go to bed early. Never mind that he would have to borrow the red head's shampoo (_Too bad for him_.).

Stopping just outside their room, the blonde yawned and stretched, vaguely wondering if he ought to have brought up some food from dinner for his partner. From what he could tell, Sasori hadn't eaten…all day! That was a bit odd and rather improbable. The red head had most likely slipped by at some point in the day and gotten food.

He pondered this a moment longer and sighed. If the puppeteer wanted to eat, he could get his own sustenance. With that conclusion in mind, Deidara opened the door and took a step into their room.

What greeted his eyes, however, was far from what he had expected and his cerulean eyes widened in horror. A naked woman lay sprawled out on the floor, her bare feet facing the door. Sasori, still fully clothed as far as the blonde could tell, straddled her hips and was engaged in something around her chest area. A sketch book and a few pencils lay next to them both. A number of pages had been torn out and had drawn on them different perspectives of the woman's body.

Though the sight was curious and might have sparked some interest in him, Deidara suddenly found he didn't want to know anything else, that all he wanted was to get as far away from the scene as possible. He almost tripped in his rush to close the door and go back down the stairs. It was a good thing he had discovered those hiding places earlier that day and he chose the most secluded one he had found – the closet/pantry.

Sasori refused to acknowledge the blonde's brief presence – as usual. This was very delicate work. If he allowed himself to get the slightest bit distracted, he could ruin the whole project and have to start from scratch. Granted, he had just begun the most serious part of the process, but, nevertheless, it wasn't worth the wasted effort.

He was leaning over the left side of the woman's chest with a scalpel in his right hand. Gingerly, he placed his other hand on her bare flesh just to the left of his target in order to brace himself and lowered the blade to the skin to make the finest of incisions. He took the cloth beside him to wipe away the blood pooling from the cut and continued to drag the scalpel along until the wound was a square directly above the heart. Dropping the blade, he used both hands to gently pull the skin from the inside the square off the woman's body.

Blood immediately began welled to the surface and he picked up the spritzer he had taken from the closet to spray a black liquid into the opening. Almost instantly the excessive bleeding stopped and he wiped away the remaining blood with the cloth. It was best not to overdo the use of the blood clotting poison so close to the essential target in case it got blocked by the clots, but he kept it nearby for occasional spritzes.

Hm…this had to be done quickly to prevent loss of blood – couldn't have her dying before it was finished. Raising the blade again, the red head sliced through the layers of muscle and fat, spraying the liquid once he finished removing the tissues guarding the precious organ he could now see beating beneath the protective ribs.

He discarded the scalpel for another, sharper and less precise knife. It was always interesting trying to get past the bones without damaging the heart in any way. So far, the best way he had found to do it was by severing each rib half way through on both sides of the incision – though it was far easier said than done because of the awkward angle.

When at last he had finished with the knife, he discarded that too and tentatively grasped the first rib in both hands and slowly eased it outwards until he was rewarded with a sickening snap. Sasori repeated this step with every one covering the organ, finally removing the last piece and setting it on a mat beside him.

The heart continued beating as if completely unaware of its impending doom. "Hn," the puppet master murmured. _I ought to do this right_... He pulled a tiny syringe out of the pile of various colored liquids and stuck it into the arm of the sleeping woman. He didn't really care if she woke up in the middle of his procedure and realized in horror and pain that her heart was being cut into, but he didn't exactly relish the idea of her screaming and alerting the whole house to what he was doing (as well as annoying him). So another, smaller dose of that first toxin should last her.

"Alright, thirty seconds," he muttered under his breath out of habit. The heart would retain the chakra and strength of the person it belonged to for that long after the person died or the heart stopped working for some reason.

Wiping off his hands, the red head got up and retrieved the puppet torso he had been working on that afternoon and examined the chest area closely. He shoved it between his legs for support and leaned over the opening in the woman's chest with the scalpel in hand once more.

This time the puppeteer worked faster as he cut through arteries, tissues, and whatever held the organ in place, using his other hand to dig it out as he went. _Twenty seconds_.

Lifting his prize out of the now empty chest cavity, he placed it in the corresponding area of the puppet body. Hands speeding through numerous complicated handseals, Sasori mentally counted the remaining time. _Ten_. When he finished, he placed both hands on the doll in front of him, careful to touch both the organ and the wood. "Awaseru!" With a blinding white light radiating from his palms, the heart dissolved into the wood, completely disappearing from view. A shockwave emanated from the doll between his legs when the light dissipated.

Perfect. Of course he'd have to try out the jutsus and see how many actually carried over to the human puppet. But, eh…whatever. Obviously the girl didn't have any specific kekkei genkai he could use to his advantage now, but if nothing else, at least he had the materials and experience to equip the weapon with accessories that assisted with fire capabilities.

Until then, he would have to clean up before the scent of death and blood forever polluted his room. Setting aside his unfinished puppet, he picked up the bones and tissues he had extracted from the hole and replaced them in no particular order. He had about five minutes before he could inject the neutralizers to both poisons. By then the blood would stop flowing. Until that time, he decided to dedicate himself to washing his hands – which could be a bit challenging in itself.

For some reason, blood never washed off his hands. It lingered on the surface and remained as little brown blotches all over his skin. But he couldn't leave it there, so Sasori rose and walked into the bathroom and turned the hot water on. Several squirts of hand soap and three washings didn't exactly finish the job, but…he looked down at the back of his hands and sighed…it would have to do.

That was when he saw the surface cleaner on the floor where Deidara had left it. _Why not_? Snatching it up, the red head sprayed the citrus scented liquid onto the blonde's discarded cloth and wiped down his hands. Why hadn't he thought of this before? It was the ideal solution.

When the reddish brown blood stains were finally gone, he picked up two mixtures, measured out precise doses and combined them in another, empty syringe. If he was to dispose of the body properly, he couldn't leave any harmful materials in the bloodstream. Anyway, by now it wouldn't matter if the blood clotting and sleeping potion wore off.

He took his time cleaning the two knives and sorting the phials in particular order. A minute or two extra wouldn't exactly affect the state of the body. In any case, he couldn't stand having anyone see his room a mess. The two cloths were tossed in a heap – they'd be dumped in the washing machine later that evening after the woman was gone. Well, more like whenever he felt like going back downstairs.

Bit of shame the stupid brat hadn't waited around, though. If he had, Sasori could have made him go down a few flights of stairs for him. But now he would have to do it himself. With a grumble, he picked up the mat that the flesh had been placed on and, careful not to get anything on his clean and citrus-y smelling hands, opened the door to their room and made his way down the stairwell to the last door and knocked.

"**Look, **i**t's the short one**."

"Shh, he can hear you."

The door had been opened by the plant-like man. Sasori paid no attention to the conversation his two halves were having with one another and merely offered the bloody mat.

"**Ooh, he brought us something to taste**."

"Yes, now open the door."

The black hand that held the knob opened the door wider to admit Sasori entrance. The red head could make out retching coming from the bathroom. As if sensing his unasked question, Zetsu spoke up, "Tobi likes ice cream, but he is allergic to matcha green tea."

Raising one brow, Sasori asked, "Kakuzu made some again?"

"**Yes. We think he was getting revenge on Tobi**."

"Hn…cant say he doesn't deserve it sometimes," the red head replied dryly.

The white half gave Sasori a reproving scowl as the black side grinned, giving Zestu's face a very twisted appearance.

"Anyway," the puppeteer spoke up. He didn't exactly have the desire to chat away with anyone, so he went straight down to business, "I need this cleaned."

"Another puppet?"

"**Excellent**," his black side muttered at Sasori's nod of affirmation. He swiped his white forefinger on the bloody mat and stuck in his mouth with a thoughtful expression on both sides.

"We'll take this and return it tomorrow."

"So she's acceptable?"

"**Delicious**," the black half hissed as he reached out for another taste. His left hand grasped his wrist and pulled the hand away.

Sasori chose to ignore the rather comic interchange between Zetsu's two personalities and continued, "Good, I have the girl in my room. Can you dispose of her?"

"Yes, we'll come up right away."

Setting down the mat, Sasori left the room and led the way back up the stairs. The plant man followed just behind him, both halves engaged in a deep whispered conversation.

-----------------------------------------

Deidara sat huddled in a corner, hidden behind the spare cloaks in the downstairs closet. He didn't understand. Why did this affect him so much? He couldn't come up with a reason as to why his heart felt like it had put on fifty pounds.

It might have just been the shock. I mean, who would expect to see their partner engaged in such risqué activities while everyone else was eating dinner? Especially in a shared room. But that still didn't explain his heavy-heartedness.

The blonde hated to admit it, but the only thing he could think to link it to was jealousy. Yeah, that might be it.

From the moment he had gotten here, he had assumed that everyone was as alone in life as he had always been. In all honesty, the nine of them were all missing nins and criminals that, he had thought, shouldn't associate with the outside world lest they be caught. And they were all men, which furthered confirmed his guess. So, therefore, it would make sense that none of them would relationships with anyone.

The fact that Sasori had gotten an outside girl into the house to do who-knows-what with her shattered that belief. Now he couldn't help but wonder how many of the others also had girlfriends outside the Akatsuki.

That also brought up the other thing that was bothering him. Here was Sasori, a member of an evil ninja organization and possibly the rudest guy Deidara had ever met, and he could get himself a lover who would willingly walk into the halls of the Akatsuki for him. It made him want to kill her for some reason. The whole thing just wasn't fair at all. The sculptor had never been lucky enough to catch the eye of anyone he had ever fancied, even when he was a good and respectable citizen.

Life suddenly felt like that never-ending popularity contest again. Trying to avoid it in the first place might have been another reason for his desire to join the Akatsuki. And here he was, feeling once more as if everyone had more luck than him.

_Yes, that's it_, he thought to himself. Of course, his realization didn't actually make him feel any better, but at least he didn't feel as confused. That was a logical explanation for every emotion that he was feeling at the moment.

Now that that had been cleared up, he rose and stepped from out of the clothing, his heart still feeling like a piece of lead in his chest. He couldn't explain it, but he had an uneasy feeling, as if he was missing something.

It didn't matter. Discarding that thought, he exited through the door that opened to the kitchen and made for the freezer with a spoon in hand. A few bites of the green tea ice cream made him feel remotely better and, after washing the spoon, he decided he would go to his room again. Too bad if Sasori and his girlfriend weren't finished – interrupting them seemed like the least he could do as payback to his grumpy partner.

On his way, Deidara spotted that creepy Zetsu guy coming back down the stairs, a soft thumping coming from behind him. He seemed elated about something and his two personalities were having a jubilant conversation about eating. It took a moment for the fact to seep in.

His heart skipped a few beats when he remembered that the plant man ate people so…Deidara took a closer look at what he was dragging down the steps. It was the girl! With a jolt, he noticed there was a hole where her heart was supposed to be. So she was…dead? Everything that had been so painfully clear became blissfully muddled.

Avoiding the other, the blonde practically dashed up the steps and barged into the room. His partner was sitting quite comfortably at his workstation with a carving knife chipping away carefully at the wood of a puppet torso. Beside him were the numerous papers from before and he kept glancing at them as he shaped the wood.

"Danna," the blonde asked tentatively, "who was that girl, un?"

"Subject for my human puppet," he replied without looking up.

"Oh." Truth be told, the sculptor didn't have a clue as to what a 'human puppet' was, but he judged it best not to ask too many questions. "I thought she was your girlfriend, un," he murmured almost inaudibly.

_Girlfriend_? That had to be the most ridiculous thing the red head had ever heard, for many reasons. "No." He turned his head to face the blonde. "I don't have connections with the outside world." Returning to his work, he added in his toneless voice, "And you shouldn't either, brat – it can be harmful to the Akatsuki."

"Hai." Now that that was cleared up, it was time for a shower. "Um, Sasori no danna, can I use your shampoo, un? I don't really have any…"

"Fine. But only tonight. We'll go into town tomorrow." The puppeteer put down his work. It was quite obvious he wouldn't get much done with his partner in here.

"Thanks, un!" He began undressing when his eyes fell on the can of bug killer. Eurgh, that's right – there were still some enormous spiders living directly below where he slept. With his shirt halfway off, Deidara looked back at Sasori, "Can you please kill the spiders in the drawers under my bed, un? I don't like them…"

What was up with the kid and changing in front of other people? Was it a hobby of his or what? "Yes, yes, fine." His patience with these unceasing questions was beginning to run out.

"Hooray! Arigatou gozaimasu!" With that, the blonde finished removing his clothes and hopped into the shower.

Sasori, desperate to get away from his shameless partner, averted his gaze and rose to get the pesticide that had been left on the empty desk across the room.

Wait. Was he actually doing a favor for someone? Eurgh. _No_, he told himself firmly, _I'm doing this so he'll shut up and leave me alone_.

While Deidara washed himself up, occasionally bursting into song and stopping suddenly when he realized he didn't know the rest of the words, Sasori spent the time hunched over with a spray can in one hand. It wasn't that bad. He actually enjoyed seeing the arachnids squirm in pain when he squirted them with the poison. When they were dead, he gathered them all into a plastic container and brought them to the closet with his other poisons. They might end up proving useful in one of his mixtures one day.

At that moment, Deidara finished his shower and shut off the water. Oh no. Where were the towels? He stepped out, dripping wet and looked in the cupboards next to him and on the walls for possible towel racks. He sniffed in annoyance. Another instant where he should have thought ahead.

"Danna, where are the towels, un?"

His partner looked up at him and scowled. Marching over to the farthest cabinet, he took out a towel and threw it at the sculptor – hard – without a word.

Damn, this kid was irritating. Didn't he have any decency? Fed up with the presence of him, Sasori picked up the two cloths on the ground, went through his drawers for any dirty clothes, and left the room to start a load of laundry.

Deidara was quite oblivious to his partner's irritation. He merely dried off, put on a pair of clean shorts, and ran his tongue over his teeth. Yuck. If they were going into town tomorrow, he should make a list – with a toothbrush on the top.

Eh, whatever. _That can wait til tomorrow_. He thought as he slipped into his clean covers. After all, he was adjusting to a new life.

It took him longer than he wanted to get to sleep. He couldn't get that uneasy feeling from before out of his head. Why exactly had he wanted to kill that girl? And why was he so happy that she was dead – it wasn't as if she had committed any crime. Possible explanations stirred in his head until he finally drifted into an uneasy sleep.

A few minutes later, Sasori returned. _Good, the brat finally went to bed_. He made his way to the work desk and switched on a small lamp, ready to work late into the night on his new puppet.

* * *

A/N: So I apologize for this chapter. I made it a little long and dull...I just had to get this out of the way. No worries, there shall be a mission sooner or later Im also not sure if thats how he makes the puppets. I stopped watching right before Sasori died, so Im just making up the technique he uses and hoping that it wasnt clarified in the show...  
**Japanese Words Used**:  
matcha - type of green tea  
awaseru - combine  
hai - yes, yes sir, okay (take your pick lolz)  
arigatou gozaimasu - thank you


	9. A Day of Preparation

A knock on the door woke Deidara up with a start. At first he thought he had imagined it and was about to turn over to lose himself to sleep once more when the knock came again, this time a bit more persistently. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes and mumbled something incoherent. The bed was so warm. Bit of pity to leave it.

He slipped out of the covers and shuffled over to the door just as another knock echoed through the room. A groan came from over his left shoulder and he looked just in time to see Sasori turn and shove one of his pillows on top of his head to block out the sound.

When the blonde opened the door, he saw Itachi standing there, fully dressed, holding a steaming cup of coffee. The black haired young man looked Deidara up and down with an air of disapproval at his lack of clothing then stepped into the room without further ado.

"Un…?" Deidara trailed off, quite unsure as to what this was all about.

"As I suspected," Itachi murmured, more to himself than the other, at the sight of the 'headless' puppet master. "Here." He handed the blonde the mug and made to leave when Deidara spoke up.

"Erm, I don't like coffee…" he trailed off uncertainly.

The red eyed man rose a black brow and stared passively at the sculptor before bothering himself to reply. In a tone as unemotional as Sasori's, he answered, "Good, because it isn't meant for you. When you can finally get Sasori out of bed, tell him Sir Leader wants him." With that, Itachi left, leaving Deidara utterly confused.

Well, if Leader-sama wanted Sasori's audience, then it was probably important. From what he could tell, Itachi had told him in his own indifferent, condescending manner that he had get his partner up right now. Eh, couldn't be too hard – why could the other have done it?

Setting the cup down on the bedside table, he turned to face the wad of blankets and pillows that was the red head. Reaching out tentatively, he touched where he presumed his partner's shoulder was and lightly shook it. No response. He shook the other harder. Nothing. _Honestly, how could he not feel that_? Resolved to get him out of bed no matter what, he called out his partner's name once before repeating it a bit louder.

Damn! What the hell was wrong with him! He decided to lift up the pillow that covered the other's head. When it began lifting off, a muffled groan emanated from under the fabric and the arm on top tightened its grip. By now, the blonde was thoroughly irritated. Any other time, he might have found it relatively amusing that this surly character was obviously not a morning person, but right now, he was losing patience quickly. Deidara began shaking the pile of blankets vigorously and saying loudly, "I know you can hear me, now get up!"

He was rewarded for his efforts by a pillow to the face. Caught off guard, he toppled to the floor. That was it! He picked himself up angrily and was full set on jumping on the bed to push the other out when he saw the welcome sight of his partner standing up on his own.

As happy he was that the red head had finally risen, he was a bit concerned about Sasori appearance. The half-lidded eyes looked tired from more than just lack of sleep and the shadows under them were darker and deeper than ever. His skin was also a paler shade than it ought to be. Red hair was disheveled and sticking up in odd places, and it seemed like he was swaying on the spot with a vacant looked on his face.

It was a bit unnerving. Did he always look like this in the morning? Then he remembered. Reaching over to the table, he offered the hot coffee to the puppet master.

As the puppeteer downed the scalding, bitter drink, Deidara vaguely recalled that the day before, Sasori had had nothing but coffee as soon as he got up and had wasted no time in getting it. Whatever floated his boat.

Deidara allowed a few minutes for Sasori to saunter slowly into the bathroom and brush his teeth and splash water on his face before he decided to mention Itachi's reason for visiting.

The red head rubbed his eyes at the news. "Hn," he mumbled in a sleepy voice. Leader-sama generally didn't call anyone to his chambers unless it was important and had to be addressed immediately. Damn, it would have been nice to sleep a little longer. He had been up all night finishing that puppet after all.

Without another word, he ambled out of the room, leaving the blonde alone and looking after him with an utterly perplexed look on his face.

Eh. With a shrug, Deidara dressed and made his way down the stairs.

It must have been really early or something. No one was out in the kitchen yet. Although the black haired young man had brought up the coffee, he was also absent from the scene.

Feeling rather deserted, Deidara resolved himself to just get some cereal out again this morning. Vaguely, he wondered what the leader wanted with Sasori and not him. Since they were partners, shouldn't they both be involved in plans now?

Well, whatever, Sasori better plan on letting him in on the secret. Deidara stirred around the last few pieces of shredded wheat with his spoon. Who would have thought they would have had western foods here? He hadn't thought of that yesterday…well, anyway, it was good enough to fill him up.

His eyes began wandering around the room when they fell on a small notepad and a pencil. Oh yeah! That's right, weren't they plan on going to the village later on today? Maybe he could make a list of what he needed that day.

After clearing his dish, he picked them up and started jotting down ideas.

About an hour later, the red head entered the front door with the closest to a smile on his somber face. Though his countenance wasn't exactly any different and he sauntered through the hallway as cheerlessly as ever, there was a certain silent pleasure in the air surrounding him as he walked up to there room again.

Yes, that meeting, though called a little earlier than he would have wanted, went rather well. Sasori moved about their empty room going through his belongings. Hmm…seems like he did need socks, just like he had thought the night before. Oh well, he had a list of things to do today, including shopping, so that wasn't so much so much a problem. Satisfied he had covered all necessary objects, he grabbed up a bundle still left on Deidara's unused work station, and left.

On the way downstairs, he stopped at Hidan and Kakuzu's room and knocked on the door softly. A sleepy Kakuzu opened the door with a toothbrush in his mouth. Perfect. There wasn't a way he could argue like this.

Within five minutes he was able to coax the stitched up immortal to part with a sufficient amount of money. The red head walked, in even better spirits, down into the kitchen to find Deidara doodling on his finished list.

"Come on, brat."

Deidara was startled out of his daydreaming and looked up to see the puppet master holding out a bag of gold. "Un?" he asked in his usual monosyllable.

"Are we going to the village or not?" Sasori inquired, his good mood already starting to slip away.

"Oh, un. But what's this for?" Taking the bag with a unsure hand, he looked at Sasori with his innocently clueless face.

Sasori felt that odd twist in his stomach again at the naïve blonde. He could have sworn the blood would have rushed to his face if it could. How odd. But that couldn't possibly be right. Eh, it had been a long time, so he wasn't really sure how it felt anymore. In any case, he retained his stoic expression and answered quite simply, "Do you want free money or would you rather use your own? Kakuzu was kind enough to actually give us something to spend, but its up to you." He shrugged and turned to go.

"No, wait, un!" the blonde cried out as he leapt out of his seat with a force that almost sent the chair flying. There was no way he was going to be left behind. He needed that toothbrush and the shampoo dammit!

Sasori chose to remain silent as they strolled out of the entrance cavern. His brown eyes made a small dart towards the door Deidara had yet to see the interior of and his lips curved into the tiniest of smiles.

Deidara missed the small change in expression and decided instead to break the silence. "So, un, where is the village?"

Brought instantly out of his reverie, the red head led the way out the main entrance and out into the forested land. "The closest village is Amegakure. These headquarters are here mainly because Leader-sama is the leader of that town. Therefore, its safe for us to wear our cloaks in the shops without arousing suspicion." With that, he handed over the bundle he had been carrying until then.

Only then did the sculptor realize he had been holding onto his cloak the whole time. "Oh, un, arigatou, I kinda…forgot." He mumbled the last part with a blush. It was so hard to remember to put on that red cloud adorned coat every time he left the house.

With a swish of the black fabric, he donned the surprisingly lightweight garment. Hmm….nice and loose around the middle with super long sleeves. His fingertips didn't even extrude from the ends. _And_, he thought as he finished snapping it up, _I'm really going to have to get used to these tall collars. They're kinda troublesome_.

After traveling on what seemed like a predestined yet unmarked course for a while, they came upon a trail in the forest and the two started down it, the red head leading the way without a word.

When Deidara was about to ask how much longer it would be, they passed a dense thicket and were suddenly out of the woods. A tiny village lay nestled in a narrow valley in between the cliffs and forests that seemed so common in this area. It looked like almost ever other town he had visited. There were little shops here and there, what looked like an inn, stands outside that sold food, and a restaurant or two. The only thing that struck him as ood was the diversity of people that walked around. From what he could see by the headbands a few of them wore, there were more people from other lands and villages than the Land of Rain itself. And many of them had slashed their headbands just as he had done when he had left Iwagakure. It almost seemed like a hidden village of missing-nin.

Not seeming to be phased by any of this, Sasori plowed forward to the front gates. A few people watched curiously as the two of them walked by, but most took no notice of the conspicuously garbed figures.

Only when they had gotten to the single inn, The Leaping Shadow, did the puppet master finally decide to turn his attention on his partner once more.

"You have until two o'clock to do whatever you want here. That includes getting supplies that you need and something to eat if you want it as well as seeing whatever sights you might be interested in. We meet here at that time." With that, the puppeteer turned and left Deidara standing there.

He couldn't say he was happy with his partner's treatment of him so far today, but it wasn't as if it was going to get any better than this, so he let it drop. Instead, the blonde wondered for a moment whether or not this Amegakure had a convenience store. So far on his list, he had accumulated a total of about five or six things, give or take a few – most of which would probably only be found in one.

He couldn't remember seeing one on their way in, so he continued down the main street, pausing every now and then to examine store windows.

Sasori walked into the tools and supply shop near the entrance of the village. Automatically, his hand felt his stomach for a moment, then his back, prodding and feeling. Everything seemed okay for now, but either way, he was running out of oil to keep puppet joints in good condition.

He slipped a hand into the other bag full of money he had gotten from Kakuzu. Hmm…with this much, he may as well go on a spree.

When he finally walked out of that particular store, he had almost completely used the allowance. Now all he needed was…socks and some rice flour he had been asked to pick up. The red head set off down the street to pick up his final necessities. Vaguely, he wondered what his blonde partner was doing at the moment. Honestly, he had best not be wasting that money. You could never tell how irresponsible kids would be.

Deidara flopped down outside the inn with a sigh. He couldn't see Sasori anywhere, so he assumed he hadn't finished yet. That gave him some time to go through his stuff and make sure he got everything he would need.

"Lets see," he muttered, opening the first bag. His hand touched the toothbrush and toothpaste. Good, because sharing stuff like that was really gross.

A new brush that he saw in a store window had caught his attention too, so he had bought it to replace his old beat up one. And of course, it was part of a brush comb set, so he had to buy both.

He had also purchased a few bottles of nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner. With a look at the label again, he grinned, quite pleased that he had found ones meant specifically for blondes.

He also had a assortment of clothing that he thought he might need later on. And finally, in its own, heavy bag, was what had used up most of his spending money. The supply store down at the far end had a display of fairly reasonable, good quality clay. Of course, he had seen better, but as of now, he was a bit short and needed to fill up as soon as possible, so he had bought the lot.

With a sigh, he wondered how much longer there was until the puppeteer showed up. His blue eyes wandered around, looking for any sight of the other on the streets, when they stopped, gaze fixated on the stand just outside the building across the street from him. A sudden idea hit him and he abandoned his post to spend the last of his money.

At exactly two o' clock, Sasori sauntered up to the steps of the inn and saw Deidara, surrounded by bags, drinking what looked like green tea. Just as he thought, wasting money. Perhaps he could go to Kakuzu just to see what he would do to the blonde when found out money had been spent needlessly.

Before he could say anything, however, the sculptor held up another cup and handed it to Sasori. The surprised red head merely stared at the drink with a confused look on his face.

Seeing his bewilderment, Deidara laughed and pointed to the cup saying, "I got you some coffee with the rest of my money, un."

The puppet master continued to stare at it for a few moments to cover up his surprise before he looked down at the blonde seated on the curb and allow a tiny smile to cross his features. Maybe he wouldn't talk to Kakuzu after all.

Deidara beamed back up at him and he realized he had actually smiled to show appreciation. Dear lord, what was this world coming to!? He dropped the expression on his face and took a sip of coffee as he turned to go. "Come on, brat."

Deidara's smile fell almost as quickly as had his partners and he sighed, following the red head towards the entrance of the town.

"Now, you best have spent that money wisely," said Sasori, a bit annoyed with himself for sounding like a mother scolding her child. They turned onto the path through the thick woods. "We have a mission tomorrow, and you need to be well prepared."

"Oh, yeah, un! Good thing I bought that clay, un!" came the enthusiastic reply. Finally, a mission! Now he could prove that he wasn't some annoying kid incapable of anything. And maybe he could gain some respect from his partner, too.

The two strode along in silence until they returned to the headquarters. Sasori decided not to tell him what Leader-sama had said. This was, more or less, Deidara's initiation test. If he succeeded in pulling off the mission and working well with his assigned partner, he would be accepted into the Akatsuki with no further questions. But, if he should fail to cooperate with or proved to be incapable (because there was no way Sasori would allow a mission he was a part of fail), he would be kicked out on his butt or, as a more likely result, be killed. So, the red head couldn't give up hope yet. Either way this turned out, he might actually get good results. So, the test would be fruitless if the sculptor knew its purpose. With that information, he would work harder than he would have initially and altogether skew the results. After all, Sasori wanted a partner that was more than competent at all times.

As soon as they stepped in the front door, Sasori dismissed Deidara and immediately went upstairs to unpack and prepare for the next day. The blonde followed him to their room and continued up to the trap door after tossing most of his stuff on his bed. If boring old Sasori was going to stay indoors all day, he was going to enjoy the sunshine outside.

Opening the final bag containing his new clay, the sculptor smiled happily and took out a hunk, working it with his nimble fingers. If they were going on a mission tomorrow, he ought to make most of his clay ready for use. Yesterday's match between the two had involved the longest chakra infusing process ever because he hadn't prepared it ahead of time. If he could put some of his chakra in all his clay beforehand, it would be faster and easier to make the explosives during battle, thus saving energy and time. _Well, this might take a while_, he thought, kneading the clay between his hands. _Good thing I ate before we left Amegakure. And_, his gaze drifted to the bag, _I have snacks. I don't think Ill eat dinner tonight._

Sasori gave Deidara's mess a rather disgusted look and turned away. Only if that wasn't cleaned by that evening would he really get mad. Instead, he turned his attention to his bags. Eh, the rice flour could be taken down any time, so he set it aside. His new preferred hand-soap (lemon scented furniture cleaning solution) was put in the bottom cabinet in the bathroom and his new tools and oil were laid out on his work station.

Hrm, he didn't exactly need the tools, but with the money he had, why not replace everything with newer and more reliable instruments? Well anyway, with the mission coming up tomorrow, he ought to prepare himself for possible attack. Choosing out two particular scrolls, he brought them to his desk and got to work.

It was starting to get dark when Deidara finally deemed himself finished with the clay. Picking up the now heavier feeling bag, the exhausted Iwa nin made his way down the stairs. It didn't seem like those snacks had lasted him as long as he had hoped. Either that, or that infusion process took more out of him than he had anticipated. The blonde dropped his stuff off at the door if his room and proceeded to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat – preferably something he could carry back upstairs with him.

A few leftover egg rolls in hand, Deidara trudged back up the stairs. Damn, that was tiring with so little chakra left. When he entered the room, the first thing he heard before he could latch the door closed was a strange metallic sound as if rough steel was rubbing against wood. The sounds of snaps on clothing reached his ears a second later and he turned to face the sounds.

The only thing he saw was Sasori working at his desk with his back turned. Still, didn't those weird noises come from his direction? It was worth a look. Quietly, so as not to disturb his irritable partner, the sculptor crept up behind him and looked over his shoulder at the piece he was fiddling with at the moment.

It was, with no other way to describe it, a metal wing. Ending on one end in a ball joint that seemed to attach onto something else, a long, probably steel, pole extended about a half meter out to be finished off with five, long, curved blades that looked as sharp as knives. Each blade was attached to the pole so they could revolve and that, by the looks of things, was what he was having troubles making them do at the moment.

Sasori took no notice of the blonde until he spoke just beside his ear.

"What's that for, un?"

Personally, he found it to be a rather stupid question. What else did he work on at this desk? However, he replied shortly, "A puppet."

Deidara was in awe as he looked at the shiny, flawless metal. "Really, what kind of scary puppet uses something like that, un?"

Sasori scowled a little. Scary was overdoing it just a bit. His voice was the tiniest bit quieter as he responded, "My masterpiece."

"Oh, un. Its very nice, did you make it yourself," the blonde asked eagerly, completely unaware he had just slightly offended his partner.

"I make all my work, brat, I told you already." With and exasperated sigh, he continued oiling up the joint and testing it, every now and then prodding the section with a strange shaped tool.

None of it really made any sense to the blonde and Sasori seemed quite determined to not illuminate the matter, so he instead decided to just take a super fast shower and finally brush his teeth with his spiffy new toothbrush!

When he returned, ready to go to slip under the covers of his bed, he saw the red head, dressed in his pajamas and cleaning up the work station. The wing-thing was nowhere to be found. Apparently it was finally fixed during his shower or tooth-brushing escapade.

"Ne, Sasori no danna? Can I see your masterpiece?" It was worth a shot. Anyway, he wanted to see what sort of puppet would actually classify as a 'masterpiece.'

"No," came the quick, uninterested reply. "Not unless I have to show you will you see it." With that, he finished cleaning and sauntered to his bed with a yawn.

A little disheartened, Deidara moved to his bed, picked up the remaining pile of purchases and put them on his desk. He'd clean up later – whenever they got back from that mission. With a happy sigh, he sprawled out on the bed and pulled the covers over him in some sort of weird cocoon. As he turned to switch off his bedside lamp, he caught sight of the red head already smothered in blankets, breathing deeply.

"Night, danna," he said softly.

He was almost sure he heard a faint murmur of reply.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, guys:bows: I had major bad writers block! But this one was super long and I even cut down all the scenes...Oh well, thats what i get for trying to fit a whole day of adventure into one chapter. Excuse me, Im gonna go sleep now. I hope everyone had a pleasant Christmas? (or holidays, whatever, dont bite my head off)**

**Oh, and yes, in case you noticed, Im having difficulties putting eastern foods in there, so if you could let me know some Japanese foods they might have lying around the house, thatd be awesome.**


	10. Uneasy Beginnings

Morning came all too soon. Sasori, surprisingly enough, was able to get up on his own before the first light of dawn started streaming through the treetops outside. Granted, it took him a little longer to wake up in the bathroom than usual, but after about a half hour of splashing cold water on his face, he finally made his way into the room.

_Damn brat, still lying there comfortably_, he thought irritably. One issue with missions was the early hour most of them required one to wake. And since the red head didn't particularly trust Deidara as of yet, he thought he ought to be the responsible party and prepare everything. The blonde probably wouldn't be much help anyway – he would most likely just get in the way.

So the puppeteer resolved to let Deidara sleep in for a while longer as he got everything packed for their journey. As he left the room, he could swear he heard the blonde call out his name. Upon looking back, he saw Deidara was still fast asleep, facing the wall with the covers pulled over his mouth. _I guess not_, he shrugged and let it go as his generally inactive imagination.

First of all, food. It might be rather useful for the sculptor to have some food on a mission that could use up chakra and would use up energy. Sasori made his silent way down the staircase, skipping the creaky steps, into the kitchen where he rummaged through the cabinets thoughtfully. What tasted good again? It had been a long time since he had actually had to think about something like that. Well, based on what he occasionally saw the other members eating from time to time (aside from Zetsu as he wasn't exactly that great a model for this type of thing), he decided to choose out a few various food items that other people tended to like and wouldn't perish. It wasn't as if this was the most important. After all, the way to Land of Lightning was certain to have places for food. The main concern was getting to the allocated location before their targets passed by. Therefore, it was necessary to travel light.

It would take, what, four days to get there and up to five back? That was if it was to be necessary to travel all the way to Kaminari no Kuni – but better to be safe than sorry. The money he acquired from Kakuzu the night before for the mission should cover the costs of rooming for all the nights if necessary and food for one for about two days, or vice versa. So, he would only pack enough food to cover the difference. After all, if they fell short, kipping on the dirt was an option instead of staying at inn.

Finally finished debating what to pack, he trudged up the deserted stairs and opened their door soundlessly. Hmm…as soon as Deidara was permanently here, he would have to write his name on the door, too. Sasori stopped, horrified at his train of thought. _I mean __if__ he becomes permanent. What a horrible thought_.

He scowled and went for his cloak. No need to take Hiruko if they planned on making a quick journey. Brushing off the dust from yesterday, he fixed the compact bags of food on the fastenings he had personally put on the inner lining of the coat. That way neither of them would be carrying around irksome extra baggage on a mission.

Alright, time to rouse the kid. How should he do it? He didn't particularly want to touch him or actually interact with him at all, but, eh, they were partners. Some things were simply unavoidable.

As he stepped towards the occupied bed, he was hit with a sudden, aching nostalgia. How many times had he walked this same path towards the opposite bed? Why was he going over here after so long? Wasn't this the reason he hadn't kept this side tidy? His stomach twisted painfully as his thoughts threw him into the past. When he peered over the covers, he partly expected the sleeping form to have raven black hair. He loathed that figure in his mind with everything he had. Didn't the person understand what it had done to him? The pain in his stomach intensified as he got closer to the bed.

However, when he got there, he saw Deidara's hair was as golden as it had been the day before. It didn't matter, the past couldn't be changed. He sighed and reached his hand towards the blonde's exposed shoulder and shook it lightly.

He was greeted with a soft moan of one still clinging to the last shreds of a dream. Quickly losing patience, he shook the blonde harder.

With a start, Deidara woke from his dream. Sleepily looking around, he caught sight of Sasori bent over him and blushed.

What had his dream been about? He couldn't remember it at all, but for some reason, he felt ridiculously embarrassed.

The puppet master didn't catch the pink tinge to the other's cheeks in the gloom. Instead, he was getting steadily fed up with being so close to the source of his hated memories, so he walked away towards the closet, saying as he went, "Pack what you absolutely need for the mission and eat this." With that, tossed a bagel at Deidara, who barely caught it before it smacked him in the face. And hurry up, we'll leave when you're done." He disappeared in the storage room.

Deidara sniffed. After three days, he ought to have been used to the stiff greeting he received from his partner, but it still offended him. Sulkily, he ate his bagel and nosed through his belongings, making sure he didn't need anything other than his ready made clay.

When he finished both actions, he looked towards the red head who had just emerged from the room with nothing on hand.

"Ready?" Sasori inquired, his half-lidded gaze passing uninterestedly over his partner.

"Un. But what about-"

"Worry about yourself." Sasori waved a hand dismissingly at the blonde as he turned to leave.

"Oh, un." The sculptor's spirits fell. Even when he tried to be helpful, he was always shot down. He felt so useless. What a horrible partner. Why couldn't he have been paired up with Kisame, who was actually nice to him? Or even Tobi? No wait, not Tobi.

About to go out the door, the soft voice of the puppeteer drifted back up the stairs, "Don't forget your coat."

Damn! Stupid cloak! What a sucky day this was going to be! He didn't even like bagels – they were flavorless and gross.

By the time the two of them had passed through the arched entryway of the Akatsuki headquarters, the sun was finally beginning to rise, dancing sparklingly across their faces. Deidara had calmed down somewhat and was instead looking, enraptured, at their surroundings in the early morning. Sasori could care less what things looked like at different times of day – after all, it wasn't permanent. In fact, he didn't really care that he was interrupting the blonde when he spoke up.

"Come on, brat, we have to hurry." Without another word, he sprang forward, up into the trees to leap from branch to branch.

Deidara quickly followed suit and the two sped off in the direction from whence they had come the day of his arrival. Somehow this urgency confused him and it took the blonde a few minutes of silence to realize this was because he didn't even know what they had been assigned to do.

Feeling rather stupid, the sculptor called up to his partner, "Ne, Sasori no danna, what exactly is the mission anyway, un?"

The red head rolled his brown eyes. Honestly, baka. "We are to capture or kill a traitor and his accomplice. The two are headed towards the Land of Lightning and we need to get to them before they get there." Even more a baka to ask him details of a secret mission while the two were running in wilderness. With the wind whipping through their ears, both would have to talk louder and anyone could be listening. He was not going to fail a mission because his partner was an idiot. When they got to a village in Hi no Kuni, he would probably enlighten Deidara on more of the details.

"Erm, can you tell me a little more?" Deidara pressed. There was no way this was going to work if he didn't even understand. Sasori should know that, so why was he being difficult about this, too?

"Later!" The puppet master said sharply.

His feelings ultimately hurt, he fell back into silence and continued to follow the smaller, standoffish figure through the trees.

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"Azuma-san, you're late, what the hell took you so long!" Came an angry whisper in the dark.

"They almost found me. We cant travel by day anymore, its too risky."

"But it'll take twice as long to-"

"Do you want to get caught!?" The second shinobi, Azuma, snapped. Without awaiting an answer, he peered down out of the bough of the tree the two were sitting in. No one in sight, good.

"No! I want those bastards to pay! Just because I wasn't born in the main family doesn't mean I should be a slave!" The first ninja pouted.

Azuma was glad his annoyed look couldn't be seen in the dark. He couldn't care less what sort of injustices Ikkaku suffered. In fact, he really couldn't stand this idiot and would have left him a long time ago had it not been for orders from the higher ups in his own village.

His scowl didn't leave his face as he untied his headband and shook out the brown hair that had fallen out of place in his hurry. This pompous fool just kept prattling on about how mistreated he was. Personally, Azuma understood why people mistreated him if he had such an incessant mouth all the time. He was far too overdramatic and was searching for sympathy in the wrong person.

"So I don't care if the family secrets get out. Anyone who wants to curse me like they did deserves at least that," the white haired Ikkaku finished.

Azuma made a sound in his throat that Ikkaku couldn't fail to notice.

"Well, you wouldn't understand. There aren't any special clans in the Lightning Country."

The Cloud nin chose to ignore that comment and instead suggested they settle down for the rest of the day here and move on later that evening. The day after tomorrow should get them to his brother's house in the Land of Rice Fields for a place to rest. _Wait, its called the Land of Sound, now, isn't it? Honestly, why do new leaders change the names of the countries so often_? He thought distastefully.

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It was evening when Sasori and Deidara finally slowed down for another break. If he had been on his own, the puppet master may have continued on, but with a look at the exhausted, but thankfully uncomplaining blonde, he decided to at least allow for a more prolonged resting period. In any case, they, according to his calculations the previous evening, had made good time so far.

If he was correct in the direction he had taken, they shouldn't be far from their first stop, Chuuhi, a village on the border of the Land of Fire and Waterfall. His goal had been to avoid all major villages and roads on the way to the Sound Country so as to circumvent any possible slow-downs.

"Danna," he heard Deidara gasp from much further behind him than he had imagined, "I…I cant go any further."

The red head turned just in time to see his partner collapse. Hmm, that wasn't really surprising now that he thought about it. They had been running almost nonstop since they left the headquarters and had covered a great distance since then. He wondered curiously if the blonde had died. Well, he'd have to explain that when he got back, but it might give him some good data on how long it took to effectively wear people to death, though he had no idea when he would actually use that information.

Upon closer inspection, it was evident the sculptor was not dead. In fact, he was still awake, but it looked as if his limbs weren't in proper working order for the time being. Sasori steered his gaze expertly away from the blonde's pitiful eyes and picked him up with considerable ease, hoisting the kid onto his back. Chakra strings would have been easier, but more noticeable – something he thought was better to avoid.

He personally hadn't used any chakra, so he wasn't really tired at all, but he held the tiniest bit of sympathy for Deidara. Of course, that also had to do with how close the village was, otherwise he would have been rather exasperated.

Deidara felt, aside from tired out of his mind, rather useless being carried around. Honestly, what kind of person was his partner if he could run all day and then pick someone bigger than him up and carry him around effortlessly? He had never considered himself weak before, but there was no way he could do it, as he had just demonstrated. If only he could rest for a bit with a large plate of food in front of him…

His weary mind was aware of a strange poking at his stomach. It felt like two rods were being pressed lengthwise into him. So hard was he fighting falling asleep, he found it hard to concentration or wonder what they could be. The only things he could discern was that they were between him and Sasori and the puppeteer must have been really toned to have such hard shoulders and chest.

Both men were rather pleased to see the tiny village hidden amongst the trees. It didn't take them long to locate the only inn and check in. The woman at the front desk gave them a skeptical look upon seeing an apparently uninjured Deidara carried on an equally unharmed Sasori's back. When the red head requested one room and some food made ready at a table for the two of them, her eyes widened as she looked from one to the other. Suddenly, something seemed to have clicked in her mind and she smiled knowingly before leading them upstairs.

When they got there, she apologized, "I'm sorry, but right now, our only vacant room has two beds. I hope this doesn't inconvenience the two of you in any way."

Sasori knew exactly what was probably going through her mind but both didn't care and didn't have any inclination to lower himself to clear the air with her. He merely shook his head. Deidara had his blue eyes closed in what looked like genuine slumber, so he didn't notice anything.

Dinner worked wonders to get the blonde back on his feet. At the table he ate so much that he didn't notice how little, if any, he left his partner. The food effectively restored lost energy and raised his spirits. In fact, he had completely forgotten Sasori's rudeness at the start of their journey and inquired again as to the nature of their mission.

This time, the red head decided to let the sculptor in on the whole story – or as much as was necessary.

"Sir Leader received a message from a Konoha shinobi loyal to us that asked for our assistance in catching a rogue from his clan and the Kumo nin that helped him escape. Apparently he has little faith in his clan members and requires additional help." He paused to let it sink in and he drank from his coffee cup. Deidara remained silent for once – mainly because he had a strong feeling if he interrupted, Sasori would no longer have any desire to continue. That, and he was still chowing down on the rest of the onigiri.

"With some quick digging, Zetsu was able to give us the identity of the shinobi from Kumogakure. It was also discovered he has a brother who lives directly en route to the Land of Lightning who he often relies upon to visit. Our goal is to meet them there tomorrow evening and either capture or kill them both." Pausing, he took another sip of coffee and gave the blonde a look as if to ask if he had any questions.

At Deidara's silence and apparent interest in the mochi he was attempting to dislodge from his throat, Sasori continued as an afterthought, "I might add that the rogue is of the Hyuuga clan and therefore possesses, to at least some extent, the Byakugan eyes." A sudden cough seemed to have cleared up the matter with the obstinate rice cake. The look of comprehension and uneasiness on the blonde's face told the puppet master quite plainly that he had no need to further explain. He found himself unwilling to caution his partner. Either he already knew or he was an idiot – and if the kid was an idiot, Sasori had no need of his companionship on missions.

"Erm," Deidara broke the silence after a few minutes, "how far is the Kumo nin's brother's house, un?" Though he asked as calmly as possible, he could feel himself tense up. He had no desire to repeat today's events, but if his assigned partner was going to be this ridiculous about travel schedules, he may as well kill himself now.

The puppeteer knew exactly what was going through the blonde's mind and stifled a smirk and the urge to tell him it was twice the distance. Instead he replied in his emotionless voice, "Half as far as we went today, so our pace can be slowed."

Well, that was definitely a relief. Deidara didn't think there existed anyone crazy enough to expect anyone to keep up that insane pace for more than a day – if that. "Where is it then?"

"On the border of the Land of Rice Fields." Came the blunt reply.

Not taking the hint, Deidara cocked his head and looked at the red head with a puzzled look in his eyes. "I thought it was known as the Land of Sound since that Orichimaru guy took over?"

Sasori's brown eyes flashed in fury. "It doesn't matter!" he snapped.

However, the blonde was too tired to be offended. With a yawn, he realized he was suddenly losing all the energy he had just regained to keep himself from falling asleep. "Oh, okay, un. Well, can we go to bed then, un?"

Sasori steered his thoughts elsewhere and looked quizzically back at him. Mentally making a note to himself about the stamina of his partner (permanent or not) to refer to in the future when he planned daily travel in another mission, he rose and put down the necessary coin. Not giving the other another glance, he strode off back to their assigned room. The sculptor followed slowly, giving the receptionist girl a wan smile as he passed, making her instantly wonder if his partner were too rough with him.

When the two entered the room, Deidara immediately claimed the bathroom to quickly brush his teeth and his hair and get changed. Sasori waited by readying his bed then brushed his teeth and splashed warm water on his face when the blonde was finished. As he removed his cloak and looked in the mirror at his bare chest, he wondered vaguely if he ought to have brought his sweatshirt. After a moments thought on the subject, he shrugged it off and folded the garment neatly to put on his bedside table.

Once out of the bathroom, it was clear his pondering had been a waste of time. The blonde was already fast asleep. And it would be he who would wake first the next morning.

With a stretch that earned him several pops and cracks in his joints, he set down his coat and slipped under the covers of his rather small bed. He found he wasn't tired enough to drift off to sleep yet, so he allowed his mind to wander for a while, touching on the plans for the mission tomorrow, the recently unearthed memories, and that annoying kid that was fast asleep in the bed across from him. He finally lost himself to sleep in order to escape from the dam of thoughts he had broken open.

* * *

**A/N: POOP!! just kidding, I was just checking who actually reads these notes lolz. Im sorry for the long wait. I was so sure Id have it up by last week, but my semester finals were much harder than I had anticipated. Whee!! I hope you all can understand the subtle implications I made in this chapter  
(I have come to realize I use maybe too many village terms that people might not know, so Im clearing them up)  
All Naruto Terms:  
**Konoha(gakure) - Leaf Village which is in the Land of Fire  
Hi no Kuni - Land of Fire  
Iwa(gakure) - Rock Village which is in the Land of Earth  
Kusa(gakure) - Grass Village  
Ame(gakure) - Rain Village  
Kumo(gakure) - Cloud Village which is in the Land of Lightning  
Kaminari no Kuni - Land of Lightning  
Land of Rice Fields - the name of the country before Orochimaru took over in case you didnt gather that  
Oto(gakure/no kuni) - Sound Village/Land of Sound  
---Ill keep this updated if necessary--- 


	11. On the Eve of Battle

**A/N: Yes, I realize now that Hyuuga branch members get killed if they betray the family. But for the sake of argument, dont hurt me!!!! Im sorry this took so long. The next part should be up soon because it was meant to be in the same chapter as this but it was too long. So, Ill work on it - plus its more exciting. **

**I also want to thank everyone for your frequent/long reviews!! I wont mention names because the list might take up too much room, but know I love you, k?

* * *

**Luckily and unfortunately, the window in their room was positioned just so that the first lights of dawn streamed almost painfully into the red head's face. At least he didn't sleep in like he felt inclined to, but he had the strong urge upon waking to brutally murder the architect for this inn. It took him a few moments to actually get out of the bed and even longer to wake up sufficiently in the bathroom. 

After his usual cold water face-splashing, Sasori gathered up his belongings, got dressed and went downstairs to order some breakfast and some coffee.

During that time, Deidara awoke. The light shining onto his partner's bed had reflected off a kunai and incidentally blazed right into his eyes. He sat himself up, still quite comfortably wrapped in his thick bed covers, rubbing his eyes furiously. Deeming himself adequately awake, he slowly looked around the tiny room the two of them had been given the night before.

How had he gotten here again? The last days events were a bit of a blur now that he thought back. All he could remember was running all day. Didn't he collapse? _Oh, that's right, Danna carried me_. All memory of the strange objects he felt against his stomach were gone. Instead, a blush crept across his face for a reason that he himself couldn't find.

The puppeteer chose that exact moment to return from his errands with a cup of coffee in hand. For a second, he just stared at the blonde still trying to rid his face of the pink tint, which succeeded in making his cheeks get steadily more red, before he turned towards the kunai and scrolls on his bed.

Sipping calmly at the hot liquid as if nothing were out of the ordinary, the red head said in a lazy drawl, "Breakfast might be ready downstairs by now."

Finding that he was getting used to this lack of enthusiasm, Deidara, who had finally managed to tone down the mysterious flush, replied happily, "Oh, un, okay!" With that, he leapt from his bed, almost being planted on his face by the bedclothes still wrapped around his body, and made for the door.

Sasori found himself, yet again, appalled at the blonde's lack of decency. "Put something on, brat." His voice was quiet, but too sharp to ignore.

The sculptor looked down at his state of undress and decided that Sasori was probably right – it wasn't so great an idea to walk around a public inn in just his shorts. His cheeks flushed pink again and he sauntered back over to his pile of clothes to throw on his garments once more.

"Are we gonna leave soon, danna, un?" Deidara ventured before leaving the room.

His partner muttered an affirmation and added, "Get your things ready. We'll leave after you eat."

A quick look about the room showed he had nothing else to take along, so the blonde happily made his way down the stairs. Breakfast had to be the best meal of the day! His mood was further improved when he saw a traditional meal laid out in front of him.

When he finished, the two left the inn and, pausing a moment so Sasori could get his bearings straight, they set off, still making sure to keep as much to the trees as possible.

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"I'm tired and my feet hurt," Ikkaku whined when he and Azuma finally stopped again. Dawn was just beginning to break and the first rays of sun were beginning to shine through the trees' boughs, dancing off the small lake to the left of them.

Azuma resisted the urge to turn around and gag him. Honestly, what kind of shinobi was this idiot if he couldn't take long journeys. No wonder his clan hated him. Anyway, how could the fool complain? The two of them hadn't been bothered since they had taken to traveling at nights, they were almost at the first safe haven at his brother's house, and he thought he had found a very nice rest stop.

"And why are we next to water? We're going to get swarmed by mosquitoes."

_Patience, patience_, he told himself through gritted teeth, clenching and unclenching his fists. He decided it was probably a good idea to get a hold of himself before he answered. If he ended up saying or doing something that cause Ikkaku to leave, the mission would be ruined and it would be all his fault.

"We are only going to be here during the day and will leave when evening approaches. The bugs wont bother us." His voice was quiet to hide his obvious anger. In all honesty he couldn't see a single insect that would cause them any harm, but it was best not to start an unnecessary argument with this idiot.

As Ikkaku spread out his sleeping mat, he looked out at the light shining across the water and sighed contentedly, completely unaware of the other's desire to kill him. Soon, all the other Hyuugas would pay for putting him, Hyuuga Ikkaku, one with so much potential, into the branch family. He smiled into his makeshift pillow as he drifted off to sleep.

Azuma remained awake for a while to ensure the area was secure enough to drop his guard. They only had another hour or two's journey left to arrive at his onii-san's place. They would travel just left of the Valley of the End so as to further avoid any would-be pursuers and from there enter Oto no Kuni from a discreet pathway on the south western border that he had discovered a long time ago. There was no way anyone tailing them could find them after that.

Three years ago, his village had attempted to kidnap a young Hyuuga girl – the daughter of the head of the clan if he remembered right – and had failed. If only they had known about this traitor at that time, Kumo would already have the secrets of the Byakugan. And now he would get all the credit. His triumphant smirk lingered on his face until he finally returned from his rounds and settled down for the day.

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Deidara found himself enjoying today far more than yesterday. They weren't running at a break neck pace trying to find the quarry that hadn't even been confirmed. Instead, they ambled along the border of Wave Country and the Land of Fire leisurely, occasionally stopping at a village along the way to pick up some food for him to munch on.

It was becoming obvious that Sasori never really ate in his presence. The blonde assumed his partner had eaten breakfast, so the issue didn't make itself so blatantly conspicuous until it reached about midday and his own stomach was growling for the second time during their journey.

"Danna, can we get some more food, un?"

The red head didn't directly respond. He paused for a few moments, still walking, before replying emotionlessly, "You eat too much." Being that he didn't exactly sound angry, Deidara thought it meant, in the puppeteer's own aloof way, that they would find something to satisfy his hunger in the next village they passed.

"What about you, why don't you get something to eat, too, un?" It struck him how odd it was that Sasori didn't eat. He had thought on more than one occasion that the puppet master had gone a long time without food.

The red head stopped to think of how to respond properly. At the moment, he had no intention of revealing his every secret to this brat he had just met. Nor did he particularly care to expose anything about himself to anyone anymore. It wasn't worth the time, effort, and stress.

So, how could he put this? "I'm not…hungry," came the reply after a moment of thought. Yes, that was technically true.

The blonde quickly picked up the hesitation. He ended up spending the next fifteen minutes that it took for them to arrive at their next stop trying to find the cause of such indecision. However, he was unable to piece every hint he may have received in the past together before the smell of hot ramen drove every thought and bit of progress he had made from his mind.

After a short break, the two left the tiny village, Deidara fully satiated and Sasori brought back into awareness with another cup of coffee.

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Only when the sun was getting low in the west behind them indicating mid to late afternoon did they finally stop. They had just passed out of a small, discreet passageway through a tall mountain range and were once more in a thickly forested area. Sasori finally spoke again.

"Stay here and get some rest. I shall return and wake you when necessary."

The blonde found himself surprised at the abruptness of this announcement. "Un?" was all he could get out. Was his partner abandoning him? It felt like a lead weight had replaced his heart.

"Its more than likely we will be confronting the shinobi tonight and we'll both need as much energy as possible," Sasori replied. There was no visible reason for the look of desertion that the blonde currently had all over his face. What the hell was wrong with this kid? Hm…he didn't really feel inclined to explain himself further – he also enjoyed toying with his gullible and oversensitive partner. Without another word, the puppet master turned back around to continue in the direction they were going. His lips played into a tiny smirk as he left the blonde.

Deidara couldn't get the bad feeling out of his stomach as he complied to the other's instructions. What did it matter if that cranky jerk left him? He couldn't understand why he was so affected by the prospect of that possibility.

Laying out his cloak to avoid getting himself dirty, he curled himself into a comfortable ball. Maybe it wasn't just that either. He just had a bad feeling about this whole situation. Still pondering, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

Sasori, on the other hand, had no intention of deserting his new partner. He would have hell to pay if he returned without the blonde. Instead, he was merely scouting out their location to the allocated interception point.

He had only to pass over another small hill before he was able to make out the only shape of a cottage for miles. Exactly where they needed to be. Judging by his calculations, their quarry was only moving at night and, by that standard alone, would not have made it to this point yet.

He planned on waking Deidara when the sun was setting. Until then, he would keep watch quietly. After all, he hadn't used any of his chakra, so he didn't need rest.

----------------------------------------

Azuma, as the more responsible member of the party of two, woke first, having trained himself to sleep only as long as he needed. The sun was just beginning to approach the horizon, its blazing hues violently brushing the tips of the trees as though trying to set the entire forest afire.

With a sigh of contentment, he rose, packed up his sleeping mat and proceeded to wake his companion who, upon receiving the hard prod in the back responded by merely rolling over. Azuma left it at that for now before he got angry. Instead, he moved on to making a sort of breakfast…or whatever it could be called at dusk.

Ten minutes later, the lazy and complaining Ikkaku had risen and was starting to eat his food silently. Azuma was thrilled to see the white haired Hyuuga wasn't raising his temper yet.

When Ikkaku had finished, he spoke for the first time that morning. "Which way are we going, Azuma-san?"

With an indifferent wave of his hand in a northward direction, he growled in reply, "There's a passage through the mountains on the border of Oto no Kuni that I'm pretty sure only I know of. Its very hard to find and once we pass it, no one can catch us." He paused, determining the distance. "We should reach onii-san's house by nightfall."

"Good, cuz I really want a shower."

_Great, here comes the whining_. Azuma said nothing in return and shoved his cooking gear into his pack, indicating in his own unfriendly way that Ikkaku ought to do the same.

The two set out within five minutes, leaving the peaceful lake looking as undisturbed as it had when they had arrived that morning.

------------------------------------------

From his perch in one of the tallest trees on the thickly forested hill between Deidara and the cottage, Sasori could keep an eye on both as well as the passage he suspected their targets were planning on using. The shutters were all closed in the house and there didn't appear to be any sign of life there, but he knew this to be the right place. He had kept almost stock still for the two hours he had left the blonde to reenergize himself until his keen brown eyes caught sight of movement coming through the opening in the rocky pass.

Lithe as a cat, he shimmied down the tree trunk and made his silent way towards where he had left the blonde.

Deidara had woke some time before and had also found himself a low branch in a nearby tree. The uneasiness from before wouldn't be shaken off. He didn't understand why he felt so vulnerable without his partner. After all, he had only known him for five days.

_No_, he told himself firmly, _it isn't just that_. Even when Sasori reappeared across the clearing, his discomfort eased only partially. Granted, he felt better now that he wasn't alone, but everything still seemed a little off. Removing himself from the branch, Deidara grinned at the puppeteer who, for a brief moment, looked confused when he couldn't find the blonde right away.

Sasori lost no time in covering up his expression and scowled in response to the amused smile. But he quickly changed expression to his more serious face (not much of a difference, but Deidara was learning how to differentiate) as he said in a lower voice than they had used earlier, "They're here. The direct path to the cottage is right this way. We need to move."

The sculptor's face lit with nervous excitement. His grin still plastered on his features – this time more anticipating – he followed as the puppet master led through the trees to their right.

Mere minutes later, hushed voices could be heard where the two had stood not long ago. Sasori had judged it dark enough to be able to climb another tree and watch their targets from there without being seen and Deidara was just out of sight following them closely with stealth Sasori wouldn't have thought possible from such a bumbling kid.

The taller, brown haired nin turned around abruptly, looking directly at where the blonde was concealed in the bushes. Before the red head could react, the shinobi lashed out at the brush and Deidara performed a substitution jutsu at precisely the same moment, getting himself away safely.

"Azuma-san, I thought you said we'd be safe here. Stop being paranoid." The white haired young man next to him said in a whiny voice.

Azuma growled as if restraining himself from attacking his companion, but said nothing. It was quite obvious he was more than miffed at striking nothing more than a rock with his katana.

Deidara looked up at his partner with an excited grin. "So one of them is stupid and neither of them get along."

The red head noted that the blonde was able to successfully play things off as if he had planned everything. But he had to give him credit – though it was probably not as intended as he made it seem, it had told them both a few crucial things about their opponents as well as giving Sasori a clear view of both headbands, confirming that the two men were indeed their quarry. It also proved the sculptor had really good reflexes.

But there was no way he'd admit it. Instead, he murmured, "Hn."

The two Akatsuki members watched through the growing gloom as the other two disappeared into the cottage.


	12. Mission Accomplished

**A/N: See? My fastest update because this was gonna be my coolest chapter. I think at least :D Anyway, enjoy, k? Thanks again for all those reviews. I try to get back to each one, I really do. Much love!**

* * *

When the two figures disappeared into the cottage, Sasori leapt from his perch in the tree. No matter how good the kid's reflexes were, he hadn't displayed his intelligence or reliability as of yet, so the red head felt inclined to take control of the operations until he was proven wrong. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the blonde reaching a hand into his cloak to fumble with something around his middle. Disregarding it, he spoke.

"The one with white hair is the Hyuuga member." He refused to use Deidara's terminology to refer to the 'stupid one' as such, though he was rather thinking the same thing. "He is obviously lacking basic shinobi skills, but he still has the Byakugan, so beware of him. If he touches you once, it could be over. The other is the one from the Lightning Country, but I don't have any more information on him."

Deidara merely nodded in response. It was quite plain from the shining look in his eye that he was extremely eager to get started.

"Our goal is to stop them. In any way necessary. Kill them if you want."

The cold voice held no hint of sympathy or hesitation and Deidara vaguely felt a strange hotness in his gut. He ignored it, however – whatever the cause, he could find out later. This right now was going to be fun. "Now, un?" he asked keenly.

"Let's go."

The two took off simultaneously, in a quick leap. As quickly as they took off, they stopped suddenly as the door opened and their targets stepped outside again. The Akatsuki pair watched silently from just outside the clearing of the house as the Konoha nin looked up at his stoic companion as if to say something.

Deidara wasn't about to let him get in a word. A kunai went flying in a direct path towards the white haired Ikkaku from where he stood in the bushes. Azuma reacted quickly, knocking the blade out of its path with a katana.

"Wha-?" Ikkaku simply stared at the now empty air in front of him in alarm.

"I knew we weren't alone." Azuma's hard face was pulled into a vicious snarl. "Come out, bastard!" he called into the shadows.

With a smirk quite uncharacteristic of his usual innocent façade, Deidara stepped out of the foliage and faced both ninjas fearlessly. "What language," he said in a mock offended tone. "You should try being more polite – people wont like you, ya know, un." He pulled his face into a falsely benign smile. Sasori found himself thinking he rather liked this more spirited side of the blonde.

Albeit, that blonde was also rather rash and probably should have waited for a more opportune time to attack, but eh, the young were prone to being impulsive. Without a word, he rose from his crouching position to face the other two.

The brown haired Kumo nin looked his opponents up and down before his angry scowl became a cocky sneer. "They sent two children to catch us? Not a wise move." His eye fell on Sasori again and announced, the smirk not leaving his face, "I'll take this one. He doesn't seem so immature." With a barking laugh, the bigger man lunged for Sasori, two katanas in hand.

The red head twitched his arm, catching the scroll that fell out of his sleeve, and leaped back to fall into combat as he released the seal. Blocking the katana slashing towards his chest with a hastily drawn kunai, he pulled further back to allow his released puppet to take up the fight.

Deidara decided to let the other make the first move as well. Better to test the opponent's ability before making brash decisions. He already took Ikkaku as the fool, but people often have two faces.

The characteristic pupiless white eyes of the Hyuuga family scanned slowly over Deidara, lingering, what seemed to Deidara, a long time at what was below his belt. An eerie leer spread across the pale shinobi's face and he brought his gaze back up to meet the blonde's.

For a moment, the sculptor couldn't figure out what had happened. Wait, didn't Byakugan allow you to see more than a regular eye could? Was it able to see through clothes? He suppressed a shudder. What a disturbing thought.

"You're cute," said Ikkaku with the same creepy smile. The veins at his temples bulged and his eyes became more defined. "Can I touch you?"

Deidara mulled the words over in his mind. _Does he mean 'touch me' like make physical contact, or_-

His thought process was completely cut off as the Hyuuga leaped towards him, palm extended. The blonde was barely able to get out of the way. _Well at least it wasn't the other thing I was thinking of. Must be his idea of a pun_, he thought distractedly. The other's hand made contact with a tree nearby, shattering a huge chunk of wood out of the trunk. Ikkaku turned his torso in an almost insane fashion, madly searching for Deidara.

"I see you!" With agility Deidara hadn't thought possible from such a seemingly ill adept ninja, the Konoha nin jumped directly into the tree the blonde had chosen to remain to decide on an attack plan. Once again, he was scarcely able to get himself out of the way before the surge of chakra from the other's palm blasted through the branch he had been sitting on.

"Damn!" Deidara weaved in and out of the trees to stay as far ahead of the other as possible without leaving him behind as he tried to come up with a good tactic. Obviously this guy's main fighting style was taijutsu. That's what he had heard about Byakugan users, but at least he had confirmed it. Now what to do?

He ducked in time to avoid a palm to the head and delivered a strong kick to the man's chest. It was all he could do for now, so he slipped out of reach, again making Ikkaku chase after him. He had no attack plan and there was no way he could use his bombs right now.

If nothing else, however, it was fortunate this man didn't exactly embody the epitome of a Hyuuga. He was fast and obviously delivered a powerful blast of chakra, but that was basically it. The blonde swerved in mid step when he saw the shinobi appear in front of him. The rumors spoke of members of the clan as having superior techniques and breachless defense, making them virtually invincible. Ergo, this was not a skilled user of the White Eye as he had been able to get in a good kick or two so far.

Noticing that he was getting nearer the house again, he suddenly turned and withdrew a kunai. Ikkaku, as predicted, came at him with a full on intent of planting his hand into Deidara's chest. At the last moment, the blonde ducked and swooped underneath with all his weight on his hands on the ground as he swung his legs around to catch the crooks of his opponent's knees. The Konoha nin came crashing to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Deidara chose that moment to leap on the other with his kunai aimed at his throat. As much as he disliked killing people with his own hands, that seemed the best way to do it in this case. As he brought down the blade, Ikkaku brought his hand up to meet it, sending the kunai and the Iwa nin flying in opposite directions from the force.

Wiping the blood from his lip where he had landed on a rock, Deidara rose somewhat shakily. The haughty look on the Leaf ninja's face set his determination to kill him no matter what.

"Its useless, brat. I'm far superior to you." For some reason, this pissed Deidara off even more. The phrase sounded highly familiar but at the moment, his mind was too clouded in anger to really piece it to anything.

Not allowing his strong emotions to show on his face, he rushed forward with another kunai drawn. Making to cut at the man's face, he successfully drew his attention to block his head while the blonde got in another powerful roundhouse kick, sending Ikkaku wheeling.

He'd have to wait to find a good opening to plant a bomb on the shinobi, but until then, if he could just send a kick his way occasionally and effectively avoid all attacks, he might be able to beat him after a while. That's if Sasori didn't allow his opponent to come his way. With that thought in mind, the sculptor looked towards his partner.

Sasori was having slightly better luck with his opponent. He had discovered the shinobi wasn't able to perform ninjutsu and was also, by almost automatic default, unable to use genjutsu as it required much more skill and concentration. Instead, he made up for it with his superb combat skills and incredible strength. He wielded katanas – more than Sasori was so far able to count – and he wielded them skillfully. Had his puppet specialized in sword techniques, it might have been defeated, but, as it was one of his artistic creations, it had more up its sleeve than just that.

He hadn't moved too far from his original position once he had gotten his puppet into the battle and himself out. Twice Azuma had somehow gotten past his doll's defenses and had attacked Sasori full-on. Both times Sasori was able to dodge and throw his puppet between the both of them with his chakra strings.

He knew full well from his practice fights with Kisame that he was no match for brute strength with his small frame, so trying to block forceful attacks from a strong opponent were not only useless, but dangerous.

Instead, the puppet was taking a beating. There were gouge marks in its torso where the blades had made contact and the left hand was missing. But that wasn't about to stop it from coming. Deidara had had the right idea when he blew up that other one. The only sure way to prevent his creations from attacking was to completely destroy them…or use Iron Sand.

Azuma continued to make efforts to get at him directly. A twitch of the red head's fingers sent the puppet flying in the direction Azuma was trying to go. Another twitch opened the puppet's mouth to send flames surging towards the Kumo nin who barely saved himself from incineration. Even so, he had to put out some flames on his clothing before he could continue to fight back. This gave the puppeteer the opening he was searching for. Fingers dancing through the air, he sent the wooden doll hurtling towards Azuma from the back.

Azuma, however, appeared to have predicted the movement and, without taking his piercing eyes off the red head, swung his sword behind him to cut off the puppet's head. The thing 'stumbled' in mid air as its puppet master tried to readjust since the center of gravity had changed. Azuma took this chance to use the sharp sword that had beheaded its quarry and, with movements almost too fast to see, sliced the doll into pieces.

With an irritated sniff, Sasori shoved his hand down the back of his cloak to extract another scroll.

The Kumo nin lunged for him during that instant, and the puppeteer had to duck and veer to the side to avoid a blade to the head. Sasori rushed towards the fallen puppet with one scroll in his hand and the other in his mouth. As he passed the wooden pile of body parts, he dropped the scroll in his hand and sealed the pieces into it. Still making sure to keep clear of oncoming blades, he released the other scroll with a handseal and shoved it back down his cloak.

He threw himself backwards again to avoid being struck with the furiously slashing katanas and forced his released doll into the midst of things. The puppet's arm came off with a crack and it blocked the onrushing swords with a blade that was now in place of the limb. It quickly backed off as the brown haired man swung at its head and lunged forward once more with surprising agility, hitting the hilt of the sharp blade from before.

Having successfully knocked it from Azuma's grasp, the puppet rushed towards the blade flipping through the air, block it from view for a moment with its strangely controlled long black hair. When it came back into sight of both men, all that remained was a mangled hilt.

Azuma stared in shock at the ruined katana before being brought back to his senses as the puppet rushed towards him knife extended. With a start, he dodged the blow with a roll to the side. Quickly drawing another hidden katana, he leapt back into action with his dual wielding techniques.

His new katana was also reduced to a tangled mess. The hair of the puppet suddenly swung forward in one mass and engulfed the blade, brushing against his flesh in the process. Searing pain went shooting through his hand and he withdrew immediately. The melted bits of steel from his sword thumped into the grass as it fell.

_Oh my god, that's acid_! he thought in a panic. What the hell was this thing!? Leaping back to recuperate for a moment, he drew another blade to replace the last. If only he could get at that red haired kid. Puppeteers were always so vulnerable if caught without their puppet to save them.

At that very moment, Sasori saw, out of the corner of his eye, another brown-haired figure jumping in to join the fight against Deidara. From what he had seen from the few glances he was able to spare, Deidara had been barely able to handle that Hyuuga, let alone another shinobi.

With a flick of his entire wrist, Sasori sent the bulky puppet hurtling as fast as he could get it to go into the Kumo nin, knocking him backwards several meters and undoubtedly stunning him.

With another twist and turn of the fingers, the puppet about faced and its blade-arm suddenly extended, quickly cutting through the air towards Deidara's fight. The second shinobi in the fight, whoever he was (though Sasori suspected, due to the same color hair, it was the brother), didn't have a chance to react. The blade pierced directly through his chest, presumably hitting more than one artery, and he fell to the floor with a gurgling noise, the blood welling up in his mouth and out of his wound.

Deidara had seen the move seconds before it happened and took that moment to spit out the clay that had been in his right palmouth the whole time. With one last effort before the blade made contact with the brother, he used the same technique had had used against Sasori the other day and punched Ikkaku in the chest.

He planned on releasing the bomb as soon as the brother was killed because that was probably when he would get the best opening as the Hyuuga would be more than likely stunned for a moment. He turned, focusing his chakra, but couldn't find his opponent.

The blonde looked around frantically before seeing the white haired bastard directly behind Sasori. A wave of panic washed over him and, unable to do anything else, he screamed, "Dan-!!"

Sasori sensed the presence of the other too late. He jerked his arm violently in a last ditch effort to protect himself because he had absolutely no time to physically remove himself. The puppet only closed half the distance before the Konoha nin's palm slammed into Sasori's back, directly where the heart would be.

Azuma was rising a little unsteadily when he saw his opponent hit by his companion. A smirk painted across his face.

The wooden doll collapsed in a crumpled heap as the chakra strings were severed. Sasori's eyes widened in shock and everything started turning black. _Damn, __damn_.

The Kumo nin wasted no time in hurling five of his katanas at the falling puppet master. Each hit various parts of his torso with dull thuds. His body shuddered upon contact from each before it finally fell to the grass, lifeless.

Deidara's cerulean eyes widened in horror. The panic that had overwhelmed him just before gave way to desperate rage. Ikkaku seemed to find this incredibly funny. He laughed cruelly and rushed towards the blonde, chakra building in his hand.

Without wasting an instant, the sculptor focused his chakra and the centipede that had latched firmly onto the other's chest grew until it was large enough to wrap itself around the man's body multiple times. "KATSU!"

The onrushing Hyuuga had only a second to look surprised and even frightened before the centipede exploded around him. The bright flash and cascade of smoke lit up the area for a second before spatterings of blood and bits of flesh were sent in every direction and they were engulfed in darkness once more.

As he forced his way to the fallen form of his partner, he saw the other shinobi trying to pull out a katana from the red head's gut with his foot bracing himself on the puppeteer's body. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HIM!!" he yelled, throwing a shuriken at the man's head, forcing him to pull away and abandon what he was doing.

Taking out his last kunai, Deidara leapt forward and Azuma was forced to fall back and block with his only remaining sword. The blonde was so overcome with angry adrenaline that the Kumo shinobi was being driven into a corner. Twisting like a cat, he avoided every swing at him and weaved his way through every block until he was given a clear shot.

With every ounce of energy he had, he plunged the kunai into his opponent's throat, withdrew it, and stabbed him again. The strength of each thrust of the blade began to subside as his fury gave way to hopelessness.

The brown-haired ninja had long since expired, the tormented screams of agony long gone, when Deidara finally gave up. He trudged to the unmoving figure of his partner. Every hope of his survival had vanished at the sight of the many blades piercing through the broken body.

Before he could realize what was happening, he felt cold wetness on his face as the icy wind blew against the tears on his face. He couldn't understand why it affected him so much to see his partner dead like this on the ground, but it definitely did.

Thoroughly crushed in spirit, he dropped a clay bird to the ground and made it grow to a size suitable for riding. Unable to just leave the defeated Sasori, he resolved to at least take him back to the headquarters.

He lifted the limp body of his partner to lay him out on the back of the bird and jumped on himself. The bird took off in the direction from whence they came and Deidara, who hadn't had enough room so he had lain his partner's lifeless head on his lap, stared despairingly at the red head's still face, tears still stinging his eyes. It looked so wretchedly peaceful.


	13. Unhappy Return

It was so awkward riding along in such dead silence. The wind blowing his golden hair into a violently spasming mess made not a sound nor did the air whistling over his ears. The whipping of the cold air around him did not stimulate Deidara as it always had, nor did the extreme height excite him like is usually would. Everything felt empty, like a great void had opened in him.

Hours earlier he had decided it was best to put Sasori out of his mind. Though that was in fact easier said than done being that the puppet master's lifeless head lay in his lap, Deidara had begun to feel the horrible pangs of guilt.

When he set off back towards Ame no Kuni hours ago, he had found himself pushing back the red bangs of his partner, to look at the motionless face. It had given him a shock to find the flesh beneath his touch was ice cold already.

Only then did it start to set in that this was his fault. If only the blonde had been able to defend himself, if only he was a little better, if only the clay had been ready just a little earlier, Sasori would still be alive. It made him feel ridiculously worthless, and, though he didn't exactly know why, somewhat sad. He wasn't just upset with himself for being ill adept, nor was he depressed at his lack of preparation – he was almost positive that he was truly sad at what had happened.

Night had long since fallen as he sullenly guided his clay bird towards the Akatsuki hideout. He had thought it best to return the body of his partner to the leader. It felt like the best and, truthfully, only thing he could do to amend for what he had done so wrong. To be completely honest, he hadn't thought of the possibility of the Akatsuki expelling him from their ranks or even killing him for the death of one of their members. What mattered most was the face that constantly looked on him with scorn or contempt, the person who always found an opening to coldly chastise him, was gone. It bothered him for who knows what reason. If anything, he should have been happy and felt somewhat free but the guilt and sorrow tightened the chains that should have broken open.

With a shiver, Deidara broke out of his near daze. It was damn cold. He shivered again and tightened his cloak, almost forgetting the body lying on his lap. Ignoring the creepy feeling he always got whenever he was too near the dead for too long, the blonde tried to shift positions only to find he couldn't feel his leg anymore. With an exasperated huff, he reached out and prodded his thigh. Just as he thought – his leg was asleep. How could things get any worse?

In any case, he thought it best to try and keep himself somewhat entertained, if only to avoid the boredom which led to his thinking too much. Though he often came up with very interesting and deep concepts if he was left to himself, those were usually only when he was taking a shower or had nothing else on his mind. Guilt was the most haunting feeling, closely followed by depression or grief, and both of which could easily put anything else quickly out of the mind.

For that very reason was he desperate for escape, trying to focus his entire conscious mind on the simplest things. Many probably thought him a bit childish to be so easily amused, but it was his own way of escaping.

By a sudden impulse, Deidara urged his clay mount into a downward spiral from where they had been flying just above the clouds, only to pull up at the very last second and continue on the steady journey westwards at a level almost skimming the treetops. Judging by the lack of grass below them, he guessed they were probably back in Rain country and most likely not far from the hideout.

Exhaustion and urgency began to tug at the edges of his mind together. The loss of chakra in the fight was starting to affect him finally, but the proximity of what his own sub consciousness had dubbed a 'safe haven' was setting his adrenaline pumping.

It wasn't long before he caught sight of, after practically crashing into it, the familiar rock outcropping just across the water at the doorway of their headquarters. With a quick check below to ensure that the red archway on the threshold was indeed there (else he would have to go searching for the right place again), he guided the bird downwards once more, a bit faster than he ought to have. He effortlessly kept his own balance during the crash landing, but had slight trouble preventing the limp body of his partner from toppling into the water below. Only by practically throwing himself off did he manage to at least save Sasori's memory's dignity. Scrambling to detach himself from hanging off his mounts neck and focusing what little of his chakra remained on his feet, the blonde was able to clumsily avoid getting ridiculously wet when he got down.

He could feel his chakra draining from trying to keep both the clay bird and himself on top of the water, so he quickly lifted Sasori's body from the bird's back and willed it to fly off. An explosion behind him when he turned his back on it satisfied him and he carried the lifeless red head to the archway, marveling vaguely at how heavy the small figure really was. He dismissed it almost immediately as a result of his fatigue and focused instead on how to actually get into the headquarters.

He had seen Sasori do it more than once. As far as he had seen, it took no more than a simple focus of chakra despite that seal across the doorway. Shifting the body in his arms and being careful to neither disturb those frightful swords still embedded in his gut nor touch the front torso (he hated blood and had no wish to get it on his hands), Deidara put up his hands in an imitation of what he had seen Sasori do before. He was dimly aware of an ice cold sensation on his bared wrist as that odd ring that was still on his partners cold thumb touched his flesh but he merely ignored it and sent practically what was left of his chakra into opening the gate.

He was rewarded with the low distant rumbling of the boulder sliding aside and he hurried in, hoping to get to the edge of the water before he ran completely out of chakra.

Still dry, he trudged towards the door to the main living quarters. He was almost positive he heard a cry as he neared the door, but found, to his own surprise, he didn't particularly care right now. He had to get this burden from his back – it was absolutely imperative at this point in time that he let someone else know. Perhaps then the situation could be changed…

The door swung open silently but Deidara broke the quiet by tripping over the threshold. A sharp intake of breath came from where he judged the living room to be, followed by an urgently whispered, "Shit, someone's here!" No one responded, but he heard rustling fabric as he moved forward.

Seconds later, a light flipped on in the room, momentarily blinding him. Kisame and Itachi stood staring at Deidara, Kisame with a slightly embarrassed look painted on his face and Itachi looking completely unabashed but with an unnatural flush across his generally pale cheeks. With a flash of his eyes across the room and back at them, Deidara noted one of the cushions on the biggest couch was slightly out of place and Itachi's hair especially was mussed in a way the blonde had never thought possible from the stoic young man.

It took them just as much time to realize Sasori was not conscious, and even longer to realize that there were at least half a dozen swords jutting from the puppeteers body. Itachi's red eyes widened slightly in evident shock and, without a word, he quickly swept away and disappeared up the stairs. Kisame drew in a sharp breath, the surprise and alarm visible on his face as he rushed forward. He only just caught Deidara from falling face first to the floor.

The situation fell hard back on him and he could feel the panic beginning to seep into his thoughts. The blonde could feel the frantic tears forming in his cerulean eyes but fought them back, trying instead to say something – anything.

His eyes widened and he grabbed tightly onto the blue man's arm. "I…I-" he started, with no real plan as to where he was taking the sentence. His panic and exhaustion prevented him from even thinking clearly.

"Hey, kid, its okay," Kisame said as kindly as he could get out. It was obvious he could see what was ailing Deidara and the blonde allowed himself to have the red head's body extracted from his grasp. The last thing he remembered seeing before he lost consciousness to much needed sleep was the figure of Kakuzu taking Sasori from Kisame.

* * *

"Shit, it sure smells down here, Kisame!" Kakuzu stated rather shrewdly as he examined the body in front of him.

The shark-man scowled, knowing exactly what the other was referring to. Not willing to allow only Kakuzu to get in a needling comment, he replied, "Nothing like what I get if ever I happen into your room. Are the two of you at it all the time, or does Hidan just bring in company?"

Kakuzu frowned darkly, visibly trying to stop himself from retorting in some violent fashion. He had to remember that not all people could survive a decapitation. Instead, after a long pause in which he regained his composure, he said as calmly as he could, "So what the hell happened here?"

Pleased that he had actually won an, albeit small, argument with the worst tempered man he had ever met, Kisame was somewhat annoyed that he couldn't exactly smile when he replied. "I dunno. Kid came in carrying his body. He was exhausted out of his mind and collapsed right there." He gestured to the couch where Deidara lay.

Kakuzu said nothing and instead hoisted up the limp body and took him upstairs to his room. Kisame followed and, as the two of them passed the shadows of the kitchen, Itachi joined them, walking close beside his partner.

He lay Sasori's form out on his own, rather larger work table when they got there and, with only a little difficulty, removed the katanas and set them down beside the body.

Itachi stepped closer and picked one of them up to look at it more closely. Seeming to be satisfied, he slowly grabbed them all and moved away.

Sasori's coat tossed on the floor by now, Kakuzu was leaning over, closely examining every inch of the torso.

"Mnnn…get closer, I think you m-m-misshed a shpot," Hidan's sleepy words were slurred as he yawned. His silver hair was tousled and in his face and he had the imprint of his pillow on his cheek where he had been lying just moments before.

"Shut the fuck up or go back to bed. I am not in the mood," came the reply.

Obviously not fully awake enough to come back with a haughty response, Hidan said nothing and lay down at the foot of the nearer bed, watching in only semi-awareness.

"So, is he dead?" Kisame asked softly, not particularly wanting Kakuzu to get on his case as well.

"I don't really know. I think I'll have to check his heart." The stitched man got to work trying to get at the enclosed organ. "Sasori is admittedly better than me at preserving the heart in such a manner, but the bastard didn't even leave instructions on how to fix him if there were problems."

He said nothing for a while, but seemed less angry after he had gotten the jar open and had taken a look at the heart. He immediately began working on the organ.

Both Kisame and Itachi decided it would be best not to bother Kakuzu in the middle of one of his projects and left the room quietly. Hidan had fallen asleep where he had planted himself.

"Hm, hope he's okay. Been here as long as I can remember. It'd be kinda weird if he died on us." Kisame rubbed the back of his neck distractedly.

Itachi said nothing for a moment before replying in his calm voice, "I wonder what happened…I should-"

"You will not ask the kid! He's pretty upset about it already." He looked resentfully at the couch Deidara was sprawled out on. Interrupted. Just when they were so sure no one would bother them. "You know, Itachi, we could-"

"No, I'm tired now," the younger man replied tonelessly, yawning on cue. It was apparent that he was a little miffed at being snapped at/ at.

"Fine," Kisame replied huffily. Sulking, he turned to the sleeping form of Deidara and reached out to touch his shoulder. The kid didn't even flinch. Satisfied, and determined to be mad at his partner, he bent over to pick up the much smaller form of the blonde.

Itachi's attention was immediately caught. "Don't touch him." The tiniest hint of indignation touched his voice.

"Oh, don't act your age. He can at least sleep in his own bed. Rather useless to the organization if he's sore because we didn't make sure he got a comfortable place to sleep."

It was Itachi's turn to sulk as he followed Kisame carry the new member to his bed upstairs.

* * *

Deidara awoke some hours later. He felt miserable. He was cold, it was still dark outside, and he was completely alone. It took him a few moments to recognize that the room he was in was his and Sasori's. No, wait, only his now. He was also still really tired, but nervous energy began to creep into him, blocking from any bit of sleep he was hoping to get. Instead, he rose, wrapped his coat around himself slowly and dejectedly strode to the door to let himself out.

As he made his gloomy way down the stairs with the faint urge to get some ice cream, he practically bumped into Itachi. The black haired young man, who, Deidara noticed, had returned to his old unruffled self, gave him a cold emotionless stare as if daring him to do that again before turning and murmuring to the empty air in front of him, "Follow me." The blonde assumed Itachi had been speaking to him and complied to the request.

He led the way down one more flight of stairs before stopping in front of and knocking softly on the door labeled 'Hidan' and 'Kakuzu.' A rumpled Hidan answered the door with a mingled expression of drowsiness and irritation painted across his face. He scowled as best he could through a yawn and tried to complain without success, "Haven't you heard of p-p-privashy?"

Itachi gave a him a blank stare before replying simply, "It was your choice to remain here." With that, he stepped past the Jashinist and into the room.

"Yeah, well, not anymore! Ill sleep downstairs!" Came the annoyed response from behind them both just before the door slammed shut.

"Sasori's in here – he only had a minor heart attack." Itachi gestured half-heartedly towards the bed on the other side of the wall. From where he was standing, Deidara could see a pair of legs dangling off the edge of the bed. "He's not dead."

Deidara's eyes shot open and he felt his hopes soar. Not dead? Not dead?! Oh how he wanted to believe that! Oh how he wanted his partner to still be alive. His stomach turned. It had been his fault…

"I'm going to bed – Kakuzu and Hidan now have decided to kip on the couch downstairs. Take your time." The monotonous voice trailed off as Itachi started walking back towards the door.

The door shut behind him and Deidara finally moved again. What if Itachi had lied? What if this was some trick played on him? He wasn't sure if he could handle it. Having his rising hopes immediately stamped on and crushed only to be topped with humiliating defeat.

He couldn't see much in the dim light. It still looked like there were holes in his danna's bared torso and, from what he could see, it looked like there was a large, gaping black hole in his chest. Still he crept forward, trying to rein in his emotions, trying not to allow himself to be too hopeful only to be disappointed beyond recognition.

The blonde finally made the last step forward and almost cried out in dismay. Sasori's head was missing!! His limp body lay neatly on the bed but it had no head! And he had been right – there was a hole right where his heart should have been. In absolute horror, he backed up, repeating desperately in a voice barely above a whisper, "Danna, danna, danna…"

**

* * *

A/N: Im so glad Ive finally got up the next part!! Thanks so much for any and all of you wh ohave patiently awaited my next part installment. Im sorry for the abrupt ending as well, but it would probably have gotten really long if I hadnt quit. I really am trying to go faster, but I seriously have no time during the week. Its get up, go to school, go to rehearsal, eat dinner, take a shower, do my homework, and go to bed. Blah - it sucks. Enjoy though :D**

**Oh, and FF isnt working in my documents. I had to update an old document to upload this part of the story. Do you think the Word document is just too long (60 pages) or are other people having that same problem?**


	14. Unreal Revelation

"Mnnnn..? Deidara?" A groggy, hoarse voice just behind him made him jump a foot in the air.

Still repulsed and horrified by what had been done to his partner, he tried to avoid turning his back on the maimed body as he looked frantically for the source of the voice. What he saw nearly gave him another heart attack and he leaped backwards to get away from it, lost his balance upon coming into contact with the bed, toppled into the body laying there, gave a strangled squeak as he tried to get away from that as well, and ended up in a crumpled heap on the floor. Visibly shuddering, the blonde lifted first one hand then the other to grasp hold of the edge of the bed and pull his pale face up just enough to peer over the bed covers at what was resting on the desk just ahead.

"Danna?" he whispered tentatively, his voice barely audible.

"What are you doing brat?" Sasori's head spoke again, still unable to get enough sleepiness out of its voice to sound even remotely scornful.

Bright blue eyes wide with wonder and almost fear, Deidara lifted his head only slightly to get a closer look at the decapitated talking head. "Wh-what happened?" was all he was able to get out.

For the first time, Sasori seemed uncomfortable and averted his gaze to the floor to the far left of the blonde.

"And what's that?" Deidara pointed carefully at the thick glass jar the head was resting on.

The red head looked down with an expression of confusion on his face before realizing what it was his partner was referring to. The uneasiness on his features faded slowly to weary surrender and he sighed. This was too much for him to take when he had lost so much energy. Those few hours of rest did not suffice to allow him to regain enough chakra to even think properly.

"I'm tired, Deidara. At least wait until tomorrow."

The sculptor jumped at hearing his name again. Sasori, besides missing his head and a heart, seemed so worn out. It rather scared him to see his partner like this. So far from what he had seen, nothing seemed to phase his partner. The red head was always the stronger of the two of them, always with more stamina, always leading the blonde around, and always in control of every situation. Perhaps that had been what shocked him the most when he had thought Sasori struck down. The stronger of the two beaten. And now, Sasori was tired and it showed on his stoic face. He was troubled and it showed. And he conceded defeat in an argument without a struggle. For some reason the loss of fight in his partner upset him deeply and he was all too happy to leave the room without a qualm.

The blonde realized as he made his slow way back up the stairs how tired he was, too. Trying to block from his tired mind the haunting image of Sasori's detached head and his worn-out expression, Deidara instead felt himself drifting back into sleep gradually as he trudged up the last few steps. He barely made it back to his bed before he collapsed and fell immediately asleep.

* * *

He dreamed of Sasori.

The two were together, though he wasn't really sure if they were actually partners. Deidara felt happy as though nothing could ever ruin it. Sasori was happy, though he didn't show it. It was one of those things in dreams where, although you see through the eyes of someone, your perception of emotions is omniscient. They really weren't anywhere in particular, but the colors surrounding them were vivid greens and blues. It felt like time passed as well though nothing changed in the atmosphere or scenery.

Suddenly, a purple snake slithered into the picture, the ground blackening as it went. Aside from Sasori and Deidara, it was the only thing in focus. As if drawn by some sort of spell, the red head turned away from Deidara and drifted slowly towards the halted form of the snake. The serpent had a sinisterly almost human look in its golden eyes and looked positively delighted to see it was trapping Sasori.

Deidara tried to yell out to stop the puppet master but his voice wouldn't make a sound. There was something dangerous about that creature and he needed to help Sasori. But he found his feet were stuck. He couldn't move and he couldn't speak.

Sasori took no more heed of him, enraptured by the snake.

Deidara was crushed. He cared so much for the other that it hurt him to be forgotten so easily.

When Sasori reached the snake, the vibrant blues and greens that represented their happiness and content had faded into darkness. Only the three figures were visible in a sea of black.

Suddenly, the snake form melted away to reveal the figure of a man. Sasori took no notice but still was captivated by what had been the serpent. Deidara could see an evil grin paint across the shadowed face of the man and, without warning, he took out a kunai.

The viewpoint from which he was able to see changed and he was forced to watch the shocked look on both Sasori's and his own face as the knife was stabbed into Sasori's heart from the back. The red head looked down in mild surprise at the metal protruding from his chest then looked directly at Deidara with a tiny smile.

Deidara woke in a cold sweat, his heart pounding against his ribcage. It took almost a minute for his panic to subside enough for him to realize that it had only been a dream and even longer for him to slip back to sleep. It was still dark outside. Perhaps he could get in some more sleep before morning…?

* * *

Sasori was awoken when the occupants of the room decided to return early that morning. Judging himself still tired but rested enough to function properly, he brought attention to himself and asked for Kakuzu to do him one last favor. Ill tempered though he was, Kakuzu conceded to assist him if only to get the puppet master the hell out of his room.

The self-proclaimed financial advisor carried the head and the jar it had been resting on up to the other's room and followed the instructions given to him a little reluctantly. After doing what Sasori considered a rather mediocre job sealing the jar into another body, Kakuzu screwed the head onto the wooden neck and sealed the body hastily once more.

Hidan, who had followed the two of them with Sasori's ruined body over his shoulder, dumped it onto the work desk by the closet and yawned, obviously still tired. Rubbing his purple eyes, the immortal looked sleepily at his partner and the red head for some sort of instruction, not quite fully awake enough to make a nuisance of himself.

Kakuzu growled with an irritated tone to his voice, "Hidan and I are going on a mission now, so I cant be your mother anymore."

Sasori's brown eyes flashed dangerously and from nowhere, he whipped out a kunai and looked hell bent on using it.

Kakuzu ignored this and left without another word. The Jashinist yawned again and followed suit.

Sasori looked after them angrily for a long time afterward, not moving an inch. Finally, he set down the kunai knife and took a deep breath before looking down to inspect his new body as compared to his old still lying out on his desk. Just as he had planned – identical to every last detail. Though for the longest time he had considered himself to be rather paranoid for creating a duplicate of himself, it had actually turned out rather useful.

Still the Taki nin had done a poor job in resealing him to the body. After carefully examining what had already been done in the sealing process in order to avoid repeating anything, Sasori unscrewed and reattached his head more securely until it snapped in place. With a few more snaps as the parts at the base of his head caught in various other places, he began redoing the seal.

When he finished, he realized he needed a cup of coffee – now. Trying to hurry, he looked over his old body and how it used to work then made sure his new one had the same capabilities before descending the steps to fetch his morning stimulation.

His sour mood brightened if only slightly by catching sight of what was downstairs. Just before he got down the last few stairs, he heard a cold emotionless voice say, "Why down are we doing this down here again?"

"Everyone's gone and the couch is more fun," came the guttural reply.

Sasori's lips played into a tiny smirk of deepest amusement when he emerged from the stairwell.

Itachi lay on his back with Kisame straddling his legs and bent over him. Both looked over at Sasori, Itachi with calm calculation and Kisame, with hands that had obviously been sliding up under Itachi's fishnet shirt, looked as though he'd been caught stealing from the cookie-jar. The Uchiha did not change expression, but looked back at his partner with an obvious "I-told-you-so" air. Kisame looked uncomfortable.

Sasori made nothing of it and continued towards the kitchen for his morning cup. It wasn't the first time he'd walked in on scenes like this in the organization, and would probably not be the last.

When he returned to the room, he proceeded to reattach everything that had been equipped to his old body.

* * *

Deidara awoke with a start when he heard a loud crack. Looking around frantically for the source, he was surprised to notice a figure standing in his room. It took him a few moments to realize who it was.

Sasori was standing with his back to the blonde near his work station holding in one hand that horrible wing blade he had seen the puppet master working on the other day. His other arm was wrapped around behind him, working on something on his back, the Akatsuki cloak hiding his action from view.

An unexplainable happiness welled inside of him. Just last night he had been sure his partner was dead. Did normal people feel that way about their partners? He had been crushed to see Sasori dead and overjoyed to hear he still lived. But no, when the blonde was a genin in his three man team, he couldn't really care less about them.

Delighted, he said, "Sasori no danna!"

Having forgotten that the blonde was even there, Sasori jumped ever so slightly and dropped what was in the hand around his back. With a clang, another metal wing clattered to the floor. The red head looked over his shoulder with mild contempt in his face.

Deidara stared with confusion at the blade for a moment before meeting Sasori's eyes. Disregarding that the puppet master was probably a little annoyed with him for interrupting, he grinned, hardly containing his elation.

Sasori said nothing but turned back around to take a sip of coffee. He wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with his optimistic partner but he couldn't deny that the blonde had proved himself worthy by bringing him back. Hmm…speaking of which…

"Did you kill them or otherwise stop them?" He spoke without turning to face the other. Instead he brought the arm holding the first blade wing around his back and began fiddling around with it just as he had with the other before.

Deidara's smile didn't fade when he answered, "Yup, I killed them. Nobody hurts my danna!"

Sasori said nothing. The protectiveness for him was so foreign. Nobody had said anything like that before. Probably because he didn't really need protection from anyone. A satisfying snap came from his back and he withdrew his arm.

"So," the blonde continued, completely oblivious to the silence and not really paying close enough attention to hear the crack, "how exactly are you okay? Didn't you get stabbed?" He paused thoughtfully before hit with another realization, "And your head wasn't attached!"

Sasori sighed. He had promised to tell the brat in the morning, huh? Unsure of how he was supposed to explain it, he let the cloak drop off his shoulders to the ground and turned all the way around.

Deidara's bright blue eyes widened in astonishment and horror at the sight. Sasori had had his back turned just long enough for the blonde to see the scrolls fastened to an obviously not human back. The blade wing that had Sasori had been holding was attached to the middle of the back and spread out menacingly. Directly beside it was a hole where the blonde assumed the other as supposed to go.

When he turned, the sculptor saw first the jar that Sasori's head had rested on last night was in fact directly where his heart should be. Where his stomach would be was a large cavity where a metal cord was wrapped countless times around a cylinder deep within. The rest of the torso closely resembled the puppets the red head used except that it was even more carefully crafted – if that was possible. The arms looked almost human without the occasional seam running around them. The shoulders were nothing more than simple ball and socket joints.

Deidara just stared in open shock for a few moments before practically whispering, "But…what are you?"

In a voice equally as soft, Sasori replied, "My masterpiece."

Suddenly everything made so much more sense. That line running around the red heads neck was where his head could be removed. This was the only way he could possibly be older than Deidara. Sasori never ate. He never got tired. The swords didn't kill him. This was the answer to almost everything.

Somehow the blonde was unsure of how to take it. He was still of course happy that the puppeteer was okay, but this as the reason seemed to bring him down a few notches. It felt like the red head was taken from his grasp.

"So you're a…puppet?"

Sasori couldn't bring himself to look into the other's eyes. He had always been rather proud of what he had succeeded in making himself, but he never liked others to see him as something other than human. He was well aware of the fact that it wasn't natural and really couldn't care less. But the only thing that really made him uncomfortable was seeing people who he wasn't trying to kill look on him as a thing.

He merely nodded in response. Damn this kid! Why was he getting so uncomfortable over this? He barely knew the brat.

The blonde stepped forward. "But," he took another step towards the red head, "You look so real." He didn't want to believe this was true. Deidara stood directly in front of Sasori. Tentatively, he reached out, waiting for his hand to be slapped away.

Sasori, however, did nothing.

The sculptors fingers touched the smooth wood of Sasori's chest gingerly. He was surprised to find it felt exactly like skin. Without thinking, he moved his fingers up and down on the smooth surface. Aside from the fact that it didn't give way like ordinary flesh did, it had the same texture.

The red head still refused to look into the blondes face but he allowed him to touch him for some reason. He supposed it was natural to be interested in the puppet body. It also didn't really get him annoyed like almost everything else his partner did. Eurgh, it was way too early in the morning for any of this and that was probably the only reason he was being so lenient.

The blonde removed his touch and brought both hands up to Sasori's face. It felt so…normal. Even though his eyes told him Sasori was right, everything he touched felt human.

Suddenly curious, he bent slowly towards the red head until their lips gently met. He noted vaguely that they felt real, too. Not even aware of himself moving, Deidara pushed himself into the kiss.

For a second, the puppeteer made no move to avoid the blonde. It reminded him of things long since lost. Suddenly, however, he realized what was going on and his eyes opened wide with shock. He pushed his partner from him, not dropping the surprised, questioning look on his pale face. "Get out, brat," he said softly.

It seemed that, at that very moment, Deidara realized what he had done and put a hand over his mouth, visibly alarmed. He slowly backed up, his eyes darting to the ground and back up at the red head as if trying to figure out what had just happened and how he had gotten there. "Oh my god…what have I…?" His panicked whispers trailed off and as soon as he reached the door, he fumbled with the latch and practically bolted out the doorway, leaving Sasori standing very much alone with a puzzled expression still across his features.

* * *

**A/N: Ew, I really dont like how this turned out. I will nevr again try to finish a chapter while chatting on Yahoo Messenger. Pain in my butt!!**


	15. Final Indoctrination

**A/N: Omigod, I shall die!! I have finally updated!! I really do apologize to everyone who actually gives a damn. This took me far longer than I had hoped but honestly, school started getting its butt in gear and by the end of the school year, I was up to my ears in assignments and projuects. I swear to any god you want me to that eventhe last day was stressful and feaking my out in soem way. But, yeah, I havent...um...had an excuse for the past week and a half. I just got lazy, sorry D: Fplease forgive!!**

**Yes, and I wont lie, I was not feeling it when I was writing this. So, I apologize for any badly done scenes of any sort. I did try!! Much love to everyone that still wants to read it and I hope I havent driven you away by my absence!!**

(and to remind everyone what had just happened in the last one...  
"Suddenly curious, he bent slowly towards the red head until their lips gently met...Sasori pushed his partner from him, not dropping the surprised, questioning look on his pale face. "Get out, brat," he said softly."  
Ooh!! I wonder what will happen!! Lets read on!)

What had he done?! How did this even happen? Confused, angry, and on the verge of humiliated tears, Deidara tore down the stairs, ignoring the scene in the living room as he rushed through the kitchen, and hid himself among the cloaks in the pantry closet as he had done a few days previously. More than anything else, he needed time to the think.

What had happened anyway? The last thing the blonde could remember was touching the red head's face. The thought brought shivers down his spine. What the hell had been going through his head? Why would he even think of touching him? _Oh, that's right_, he thought, his mind racing through and discarding thoughts, _he's a puppet of some sort_. But nevertheless! He couldn't even recall the desire that had prompted him to reach out. What had Sasori been doing?! Hadn't he noticed what the blonde had been doing!? Why hadn't he stopped him? Nothing made sense anymore.

How did he get from a harmless touch to the face to a kiss? A kiss for the gods' sake!! What was he thinking!? He had never ever kissed anyone before and really had no intention of doing so, and here he was, brushing lips with his male partner.

He must have blanked out or something. No way would he have ever done something so irrational, even in his terms. It was completely stupid and he wasn't aware of having a desire to kiss Sasori. Of all people, his rude, grumpy, irritable partner who, as he had just found out, wasn't even human! As far as he had known, he had only held respect and quite often resentment towards the other.

A kiss!! Even more deeply dismayed, Deidara ran his hands through his golden hair roughly before he sunk his head into his arms and onto his knees. His eyes stung from trying not to blink out the angry tears.

Not only that, but he was appalled at his own actions. Appalled and embarrassed. What the hell was he going to do now? How could he possibly confront his partner after what had happened? Now, more than any other time, he actually had a desire to leave the Akatsuki. It wasn't as if he had anything to actually return to, but…but…he couldn't remember a more embarrassing moment in his life. What was Sasori thinking right now? He scrunched his legs up to his chest more tightly at the thought, trying harder not to let himself cry. The red head was probably angry and revolted and he himself would have been, too…wouldn't he?

It surprised him how much he actually cared about what his partner thought about him.

Of course he had been rather curious. Who wouldn't want to know just how human a puppet that could move, talk, think and control chakra was? Deidara sniffed. That might have extended to why he actually brought his hand up to the other's face, but…how could he have been curious about if the puppeteer's lips felt real? What the hell was he thinking!?

In a state of utter despair, the blonde buried his head deeper in his arms and allowed himself the angry, distraught tears he had been holding back all this time. For now it was probably best just to wait it out here. Goodness knows he needed to be alone and maybe, just maybe, Sasori would let it go if enough time passed.

xXx

Sasori stood rooted to the spot for a good ten minutes, completely immobile. The look of vaguely angry shock had not yet left his pale face. His mind was still blank when he came out his reverie and it took him moments to remember what he had been doing.

With a slight shake of himself, the puppet began absently collecting his discarded cloak and the attachments he had meant to put on his new body. He was suddenly uninterested in putting himself together and merely set them all on his work station before he flopped himself onto his fluffy bed.

What on earth had even happened? That was extremely impromptu of that blonde. Foolish kid. That was completely uncalled for and unnecessary. It was just what he needed – more complications to add to his already tangled life. It was something he had never understood. Feelings. What could have prompted that brat to go so far as to kiss him? Did he have some strange feelings for the red head? It didn't make sense. That was probably why he left emotions and whatnot behind so long ago. They were useless and interfered with work and everything else.

In any case, hadn't he made a point of acting even more disagreeable than usual around the blonde? Honestly, if that wouldn't deter someone, what would?

He scowled and shoved his face into one of his pillows. The whole situation confused him. Ever since that brat appeared, things had gotten weird. Everything seemed to have changed as a result and he had to conform to each alteration, modifying his life to help this strange kid. If that wasn't bad enough, upon trying to save the kid's neck in an important battle, he himself almost dies. Risking his life to save anyone was something he would never have done at any point before. The life, or whatever was left of it, he had worked so hard to put back together over the last year had been brutally uprooted and knocked askew once more.

Happy people pissed him off. Didn't they understand how horrible life and the world were? And happy people always do stupid things that leave others guessing as to their intentions. And he hated being confused.

That led to another thing – what the hell had he been doing during that whole escapade? He hadn't even fought back or fended the blonde off. Goodness knows he would never admit to liking being touched by anyone or anything, but it reminded him of what had left him.

Left him. The words echoed in his head. Suddenly angry, he raised his head to glare at the headboard of his bed. He knew that experiment on his body had left him with little more than a shell of human existence left inside and he was sure that what was left of his emotions before then had been completely wiped out. Yet, he continued to feel that bitter nostalgia for at least a year earlier when he had been accompanied by another.

Damn that blonde! Damn everything that he stood for and everything he replaced. Damn his actions and his subtle reminders that he was akin to and yet so different from what had gone away. Damn the Leader for assigning him this baka. And damn this baka for further complicating the circumstances!

He whomped his head back into the pillow angrily. Gods did he need some more coffee right now.

With a sigh, the puppet rose to a sitting position, rubbed his eyes and went to reattach his other blade wing before exiting the room. He didn't particularly care who saw him anymore. The only one who had been uninformed was his new partner and there was no reason to conceal it anymore.

xXx

Deidara sniffed, tears spent, now feeling rather irritated at his display of emotion. His humiliation and shame lingered still, but frustration had mostly replaced them. He got even more annoyed when his stomach gurgled and he realized he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

Sighing, he rose and dusted himself off, pushing all reluctance to possibly face the rest of the house out of his head firmly, and stepped into the kitchen. After quickly viewing his breakfast options, the blonde settled on the remaining green tea ice cream and went to get himself a bowl. He had heard somewhere that it was some sort of way to relieve stress and ultimately make one feel better and goodness knows he needed something like that right about now. After pulling it out of the freezer, he began dishing out the rest, completely unaware of the approaching figure behind him.

Sasori's otherwise impassive face twitched ever so slightly into a frown when he noticed the blonde was already in the kitchen. He was hoping mostly to be able to come down here to avoid the brat and, as a result, avoid the problem, but it seemed the gods had other plans. Honestly, if ever he had the chance, he would sit down and have a talk with those gods about all the shit that had been piled on his life for the last fifty odd years. Until that time came, however, he would just have to settle with dealing with it himself.

In fact, what exactly was he supposed to do? The puppet master didn't hold grudges – every vendetta he had with someone had been solved by killing the offending individual. But this was the most obscure and utterly confusing situation he had been in and was at a complete loss as to how to deal with it – mentally (for he refused to believe in his emotions still surviving) and as a physical punishment if it was deemed necessary. In fact, could what Deidara did be considered and offense at all?

The whole state of affairs was getting out of hand and far too bewildering for his liking, so he settled on just leaving it alone and, dare he say, forgiving the blonde. Anyway, he had no time, patience or even desire to try and delve into the other's mind and actually figure out the reasons for his actions, so just dropping all charges would probably be easier on both of them.

As he sauntered further into the kitchen, he felt something out of place in his stomach and rearranged the thick metal cord before pouring himself a cup of coffee. Hmm…thankfully, he hadn't applied the poison that usually coated his accessories – he had left the wood cleaner in the room upstairs and there was no way he was walking all the way up there to clean his hands before putting venomous liquid all over the kitchen appliances.

Deidara, completely unaware of the other's presence, turned with his heaping bowl of green ice cream and practically dropped it in surprise. His cerulean eyes widened and his mouth hung open for a split second before a deep flush crept across his cheeks and he averted his gaze to stare at particular corner of the tiled floor. He had an uneasy feeling he was supposed to say something first, but he didn't trust himself to speak so he only managed to prolong the uncomfortable silence. To his surprise however, Sasori opened his mouth first.

"I don't care, just drop it," the undertone in his emotionless voice had a slight warning to it. And without offering any explanation or even saying another word, the red head turned towards the table and made his way to what must be his favorite seat.

The blonde looked up sharply, an expression surprise painted across his face. _Wait, what?_ he thought, thoroughly caught off guard as he watched the puppeteer's retreating back. There was no way he was going to be exonerated that simply. No lecture? No punishment? No yelling at all? He frowned faintly through a mouthful of ice cream. Of course, it was probably good that his partner was planning on leaving the whole occurrence alone because it saved him further disgrace and awkward moments between the two of them, but he didn't feel like it was much of a solution. In fact, it left him curious as to why this grumpy person…er…puppet was actually letting him off the hook so easily after such an offense. And this avoiding the incident completely was not going to make him feel less guilty or embarrassed like solving the problem actually would. Perhaps this was all part of the red head's plan and frankly, besides the fact that Sasori had no sense of humor, the blonde wouldn't exactly put this sort of thing past him.

As he contemplated the possible sinister dealings of his partner, Deidara meandered to the table himself, taking thoughtful bites of ice cold goodness as he went. Before he was able to get to his seat, however, the intimidating, currently shirtless, large form of Kisame stepped into the room, rubbing his wet hair with an ironically blue towel.

Upon catching sight of the sculptor, he grinned in a manner he probably thought was good-natured but what off as being threatening and almost scary. "Hey Deidara, Sasori. Leader-sama wants to see you both as soon as possible." The slight edge to his voice was clear enough for even the blonde. 'As soon as possible' meant now. "Oh," he added, reaching into his pants pocket, "here's you're headband. You left it in your cloak last night when it got washed."

As the blue man had been speaking, a smaller, black and red robe-clad figure slipped in from just under his arm and made a direct line for the freezer. Itachi scanned the insides thoroughly before noticing the empty container that had preserved the ice cream next to the sink. Quickly, he searched the area for the perpetrator that had finished his chosen breakfast.

Wholly oblivious to this, Deidara nodded in affirmation to Kisame's statement and took the forehead protector with as much a smile as he could manage as he wolfed down the rest of his breakfast. The brain freeze assaulting his head made him almost topple over as he rose to return the bowl to the sink and follow Sasori silently out of the kitchen. Although he was still trying to recover from the sharp aching pain in the front of his skull, the blonde was sure he saw out of his peripheral vision the black haired young man staring daggers at him as he left.

Just as he passed the doorway, both he and the red head made out Kisame roaring at Itachi, "STOP IT!! DAMMIT ITACHI!! Its just ice cream!! We can make you more!! Its not worth the Mangekyo!!"

Deidara spent his time as he automatically followed the other through the chilly cavern puzzling over what the Mangekyo could possibly be while Sasori merely curled the corners of his mouth very slightly upwards in a smile. He knew very well what the Mangekyo was. Those two were a source of constant amusement for him, though he would never admit it.

As they approached the door to the far left, opposite where they always entered, Deidara realized he had never actually seen the Leader since that very first night. He vaguely remembered being told that this was where he resided, but had never actually given much thought to it.

Sasori didn't say a thing as they made their meaningful way to the other door. The purpose of their summoning was very obvious to him as it was custom after every mission. This time, however, he inwardly pondered how he was going to talk his way through this one. Both of them had exhibited skills that wouldn't wipe Sir Leader's boots in a figurative sense. Of course, he had the upper hand and ultimately was the one who gave a reason for Deidara to stay or go. If he so desired, he could purposely make the blonde look bad and have him thrown out or, as a more likely result, killed. Hmm…decisions, decisions, decisions.

The blonde, on the other hand, was extremely nervous. If he remembered properly, that Leader-sama was really frightening and even more intimidating that Kisame.

By the time Sasori opened the door to let them both in, Deidara was beyond uneasy. He began fingering the scratch he had cut across the rock insignia to give him something to do with his hands.

Sasori continued on through the dark towards a shadowed desk where a mostly concealed figure sat menacingly. Without a word, he lowered himself to a respectful kneel on the rocky ground, his head bowed. Deidara remembered this procedure from before and followed suit, glad for a reason not to have to look into those fearsome grey eyes.

"Sasori, mission report," came the deep voice from above both their fields of vision. The words were said simply as if merely stating the weather, but there was a definite air of power and commanding force that demanded an answer.

Footsteps in front of the two partners told Deidara that the man was here in person this time, but he daren't look up as Sasori rose to address their Leader.

Sasori quickly went over the choice of phrase he had prepared earlier and spoke with deliberate care, selecting his words with care. "Leader-sama, the mission has been successfully completed. The opponents surprised us by being stronger and more skilled than we had anticipated and we were caught unawares at one point. But each of us were able to successfully defend and aid the other if and when it was necessary." Frankly he wasn't really sure why these reports were required. The red head had the distinct feeling that Sir Leader already knew anyway.

"Pein-chan!" A sing-song voice floated from the back of the room and Deidara looked up in time to see a blue-haired young woman prancing out of the shadows from behind the desk before practically pouncing on the leader. She removed herself almost immediately and retreated back a few paces, her fingers never ceasing to work on some sort of origami creation. "We're out of eggs! And I wanted some breakfast…" she whined, pushing her bottom lip out just enough to create the perfect pout.

"Konan," their leader said, his voice quieter and more brisk as if he didn't want the red head and blonde to hear him, "what have I told you about bothering me while I'm working? This is serious, now go back."

"But I'm hungry," she pouted down at her origami.

"Fine, I'll get you some eggs, but let me finish working."

"Kay!" She leapt away and bounded gracefully out of sight.

Sir Leader cleared his throat and got immediately back into character. "And this Deidara's performance was acceptable?"

Sasori appeared unfazed by the whole scene and nodded firmly, "Yes, sir, I found no area to criticize."

"Fine, he is to be your partner permanently." He strolled slowly and deliberately back behind his desk and reached into one of the drawers. There was a noticeable pause before he took out whatever he had been looking for to reveal a basket with origami decorations all over the contents.

Doing a fantastic job at concealing his emotions, the leader ignored the ridiculous splashes of color and carried it back to where he had been standing. "Deidara," was all he said.

The blonde was horrified that he actually had to do something, but rose shakily and stepped tentatively towards their leader to take the basket that was held out at arms length. The coldness emanating from the other made the hair at the nape of his neck stand on end.

"Those are your effects. You're new partner will explain most of the contents to you, however, the ring inside is especially important. It is a physical manifestation of your membership in the Akatsuki and if you lose it, not only can you not be in our ranks, you will be found and killed by other members. Yours is to be worn on your right index finger. Do not forget." He said in his indifferent voice. "You are both dismissed."

Deidara tried his very best not to appear as if he was running towards Sasori as he retreated, holding the black basket in the crook of his arm.

The puppet was about to turn when Sir Leaders voice stopped him. "Sasori, bring me five eggs." It was not a request.

"Yes, Leader-sama," was all he said and about-faced to walk with his new partner towards the headquarters once more. Secretly, he hoped their kitchen still had some eggs. Goodness knows he didn't particularly want to go all the way into town just for some stupid errand.

The blonde was feeling increasingly better the farther they got from the leader, and by the time they had gotten into the cavern, he was beginning to find it immensely funny that official membership for the dreaded Akatsuki included the presenting of a gift basket filled with goodies.


	16. A Picture of Humanity

When he returned to their room, Deidara found he couldn't hold off any longer and began rifling through the contents of the basket, tossing aside the paper decorations. To his disappointment, the only things that were even of slight interest were the ring afore mentioned, a bottle of something purple, and what looked like an ordinary rock. Talk about being worked up for nothing. The rest were neatly folded clothes that, aside from looking to be of a much better quality and material, were exactly like what he already had received.

The ring at least was self-explanatory. It was a thick metal band with black kanji for blue inlaid in a red circle.

Quite forgetting what Leader-sama had said about the 'assigned finger' it was meant for, he studied it thoughtfully before trying to slip it on his right ring finger. _Strange_, he thought, prying it away before it cut off the circulation, _it looked like it ought to have fit perfectly_.

He tried it on every other finger, surprised to find it seemed too small for even his pinky fingers. In fact, had he not previously known that rings couldn't do this, he would have guessed it was changing sizes. It was getting near the point that Deidara was contemplating returning it to Sir Leader for a replacement before he slipped it perfectly into place on his right forefinger. Immediately suspicious, he inspected the metal surface and each of his fingers in turn. Maybe his index finger was malnourished and was thinner than all the others…but somehow…that seemed…just a bit far-fetched.

At that very moment, Sasori stepped in. He had wiped out the last of the eggs in their kitchen in his attempt to appease Sir Leader, but at least he didn't have to go to the village to get them. Hopefully Kakuzu wouldn't suspect him.

"Um, danna, un?"

The red head looked up uninterestedly.

"What are these for?" The blonde gestured toward the rock and the little phial.

With a sigh, the puppet strode over to the other's bed and looked at his forehead for a moment before speaking. "The rock seems to be unnecessary for you, but its purpose is to slash a line through the village symbol on the headband."

Deidara's bright eyes stared at the red head before he said slowly, "So, other members were still loyal to their villages when they joined, un?"

"Some, yes, but generally only those especially sure of their abilities actually call attention to themselves as outcasts and criminals, so many of them merely wait until they have a strong organization backing them before doing so. Either way, it is merely to ensure that all the members have accepted their permanent estrangement from their village."

"Oh." That was even more disappointing. So he only really got two things out this basket? "And this colored bottle, un?" he said waving his hand over the last object. It looked remotely like the rows upon rows of bottled liquids in Sasori's closet, but somehow it didn't seem quite so sinister.

He was quite sure he heard the red head make a noise of resentment before answering.

"That's the nail polish color you have to wear. Its Akatsuki policy that your toes and fingernails are painted at all times." To be completely honest, Sasori was quite sure this was a stipulation brought about by Konan.

"Nail polish?" Deidara had never even seen nail polish in person before, let alone put any on. "How do you…?" He paused to look down. It was the first time he had actually noticed the dark green paint on Sasori's nails. "Erm…does it have to be now, un?" He shifted uncomfortably on the bedclothes. What a horrible thing to do to new members.

The puppet master looked up from his absentminded readjusting of the ball joint in his wrist to look indifferently at the nervous blonde. Honestly, what on earth was bothering this kid now? "Yes, now," came his reply and he turned back to his half-interested work.

"C-can you help me then, un?" He felt so stupid. Wasn't nail polish for girls? A guy asking another guy to help him with painting his nails was just pitiful.

Sasori looked up again to scrutinize the sculptor. If he didn't know better, at that very moment especially he would have mistaken Deidara for a nervous academy girl. It really didn't help that his golden hair was currently out of its usual fluffy ponytail and falling gracefully around his slender shoulders. Ugh. The red head very strongly believed that he would have killed himself a long time ago if he had been cursed to look that feminine. How could the blonde possible live with himself like that?

Quickly reining in his thought process, he complied – albeit reluctantly – and seated himself on the floor, motioning for the other to follow suit. He gently took hold of Deidara's slender fingers after opening the bottle and began applying the polish carefully, leaning in closer to see better.

The contact didn't seem to faze the red head, but the sculptor was immediately wondering if this was such a good idea so soon after that morning's incident. His mind raced to snatch at any logical reason he could come up with for why his heart had suddenly begun to beat faster or why he could feel the heat rising in his cheeks. Unable to really invent anything more creative at the moment, he decided he was just tired and confused. But goodness knows the nearness of his partner and the soft touch that kept him so still made his chest tighten almost painfully. This time he was aware of the unconscious desire to close the distance between them so was able to stop himself from doing anything stupid. He pulled his head back and leaned into his bed, mentally berating himself for his foolishness. Honestly, what the hell was wrong with him?

Sasori suddenly put down the bottle and brought up his own hands to form a seal. The controlled blast of chakra felt so strange against only his fingernails.

"What-?"

The puppeteer cut him off in his impassive reply. "It's a jutsu that academy girls use to preserve their nails when they go out on missions. The polish fuses to your nails so it wont come off for three weeks." Konan had taught all the members this, giving him further reason to believe it was her idea to wear nail polish in the first place. Such a vain and useless jutsu.

"Un."

Before either could say another word, a knock sounded at their door and, without further ado, Kisame stuck his head in the room. "Sasori, we're out of eggs; can you pick some up at the store if you aren't busy?" He was gone before the red head could put in a single complaint.

He had seriously thought that with Kakuzu gone on a mission, he would have time before he had to shop again. Scowling, he left the blonde sitting alone on the floor, grabbed his coat, glanced in his partner's direction as if thinking of something to say, and then, deciding against it, he left.

The blonde replayed the whole scene in his head with a deep frown. He was seriously losing patience with himself. Being new sucked. He had to rely so heavily on his partner for everything that he was not only acting really pathetic, but it was confusing him. Yes, that had to be it. Everything was foreign to him so he got almost shy and, in a way, submissive in order to make sure he fit in perfectly. Therefore, he had someone that always 'helped' him and everything all together was making him look up to his 'savior' with a little too much praise.

Being temperamental didn't really bother him. Deidara's moods changed like the wind all the time. But, he had never acted so damn meek before in his life! This had to be the reason. He had always been sure of himself because he did things his own way in the academy in Iwagakure and when he abandoned the village, he lived by his own rules. Conforming must have that effect on people…

Hmm…that made perfect sense! However, that didn't quite solve the problem. Hopefully, things would start becoming more normal and he could resume at least some of his old attitude and lose these strange urges.

Completely satisfied, he rose to his feet and began busying himself with cleaning the absolute mess he had made of his side of the room.

Absolutely uninterested in actually keeping the origami or the rock, he took some clay into one of his palmouths and carried the paper creations and the stone along with him to the outside precipice just up the stairs.

Without a second look, he tossed the hunk of granite over his shoulder to land with a muffled thud in the grass about twenty feet away.

His other palmouth spat out the infused clay, and after crumpling the paper into a wad and tossing it as high as he could, he sent the small bird he had sculpted to catch it in midair.

Deidara turned his back and focused his chakra with a whispered "katsu" as he made his way back to his room. A small, almost maniacal grin plastered itself on his face at the sound of the resulting detonation. Good way to dispose of things he didn't want turning up later. For all he knew, Leader-sama might send a rabid badger after him while he slept if he knew that he had destroyed the origami. However, he had now destroyed all evidence. For the strangest reason, this actually made him proud of himself in his own small way and he strode smugly back into the room.

So now the clothes, the nail polish, and the basket.

Of course, the most logical place for the clothes would be in the dresser underneath his bed. However, he still hadn't quite recovered from the idea of spiders being present, so had filled most of the space with his old art supplies, surplus clay that wouldn't be needed for a while, and other random objects he didn't frequently use including his old shinobi outfit.

So he proceeded to dump the clothes in the bottom and largest drawer of his bedside table. The nail polish went into the top drawer seconds later. The basket however, was a difficult thing to place because he was quite positive he wasn't supposed to throw it away. It was far too large to fit in the drawers under his bed and those in his work station. In the end, he settled on looking for Sasori's basket (never mind it would have been twenty or more years old, of course).

Deidara stepped into the closet to have a quick poke around the place. Aside from the huge puppet body Sasori had hidden himself in at first, the shelves upon shelves of multicolored liquids, and a few neatly hung cloaks, there was no sign of anything else, let alone a space where the basket could have been hidden – the place was just far too organized.

The bathroom cupboards, cabinets and drawers were also bereft of any black wicker basket.

Nothing but the faint sound of a door downstairs being slammed shut broke the silence as he stood there, on the brink of just marking it as a lost cause. Just as he was thinking of disposing of the basket as he had the paper, his eye caught sight of the identical bedside tables once more. Upon closer inspection, the bottom drawer of the red head's cabinet had dust all over the handle, indicating it hadn't been opened for a while. Without actually thinking, Deidara strode over to Sasori's and pulled open the bottom drawer.

His cerulean eyes widened.

The drawer was empty save for a single picture frame with what looked like a fist shaped buckling of shattered glass across the old photograph. It seemed almost unfathomable that the imperturbable and fastidious Sasori would keep something like this. But even more surprising was the subject of the rather faded photo. A red headed man and what must have been his brunette wife held a tiny child with hair identical to the man's. The three of them were dressed in garb and were surrounded by such buildings that could only put them in Sunagakure. Even though the crushed glass distorted the faces somewhat, the two looked an awful lot like-

Sasori stepped into the room wearing almost the same scowl he had on before he left. What an absolute waste of a trip. Who the heck even ate eggs in this house? And why in all the gods' names did he of all people have to go out to get the damn things? The shark and his partner had been lying around the house for days while he and Deidara actually had to go on a tough mission. Had they ever thought that maybe he was tired?

His inner rant silenced when he caught sight of the blonde in front of his bed and he stopped dead just inside the open doorway. "What are you doing, brat?" he asked softly.

The blonde whipped around in alarm, the picture still in hand. In the awkward silence that ensued, he took the time to compare the faces in the photograph to the one in front of him. Now he was almost positive he was right. "These are," he paused, "your parents." It wasn't really question.

"Get out." The red head's voice was even quieter than before.

"Un?" Deidara looked up after putting the frame back in its place.

A little louder. "Get out."

The blonde stood, contemplating for a moment.

In that hesitation, Sasori repeated louder, his monotonous voice still giving nothing away, "Get out, brat."

"No, un." Now was as good a time as any to finally stand his ground. "This is my room now, too! You wanna be alone and cry over your tragic past, then don't kick me out, find your own damn place, un." He stood his ground resolutely, staring defiantly back at the red head.

"OUT!"

Deidara was so startled by the sudden shout from his inexpressive partner, he had no time to defend himself.

Sasori lashed his arm out, white-blue strands of pure chakra shooting from his fingertips towards the other. Before Deidara could even register what was happening, Sasori, with much more force than was necessary, made a broad, violent sweeping in the direction of the door. The blonde, connected by the bright threads, went flying out of the room as if on strings and slammed into the uneven stone wall just outside with a loud crack. With a slam, the red head closed himself in.

What the hell was wrong with that damn kid!? Always poking around in his business. Usually it just annoyed him, but then the stupid brat would obediently back off and apologize. The fact that he even tried to resist this time just pissed the red head off to no end. _True, the room __does__ belong to both of us now that the brat is an official member, but I'll be __damned__ if he doesn't listen to my orders_! he thought angrily. Granted, the spirited kid was far more interesting than his submissive 'yes-master' self, but that did not entitle him to ignore those older and more experienced than he.

Sasori stepped to his bedside and looked down upon the faces he had almost forgotten without a flicker of emotion passing across his face. Not even batting a lash, he pushed the drawer shut and went to his work desk to fix the few scratches some brambles had left on his hands.

Those two were dead and had been for almost fifty years. He was beyond caring now. The only reason he even kept that photograph was to remind himself that he was far superior to what he had once been. Devoid of the emotion that had driven him to ceaselessly strike the glass of the frame, and lacking the weak human body depicted there, Sasori knew he was now above pathetic humans.

Therefore, whatever conclusion the brat outside came to from his reactions didn't matter at all to the red head. All sentimentality the picture had left in it was the memory of the delighted people as they had had their photo taken some fifty years past – the same memory the only survivor of that day had already dismissed.

Sasori went on sanding and smoothing his wooden flesh.

-xXx-

Deidara got himself up shakily, wincing as he moved his arm to brace himself. Dammit! Crazy asshole partner of his! What the hell!?

He stalked off up the stairs to sit outside on the grass with the sun streaming through his golden tresses. Deft fingers put up some of his hair before he completely sprawled out in the grass, careful to avoid laying on the shoulder he had been slammed into. The pain and initial anger slowly ebbed away in the warmth.

Sure, it had been his fault that the red head was angry, so, in part he had deserved that. However, being thrown into a wall by an unknown force was a little too far. He didn't even know puppet masters could extend their control to animate objects as well.

Still, the whole thing, as far as the blonde was concerned, was well worth it. The indifferent, aloof figure that loomed above him with an air of superiority was in fact, a long time ago, human. He had obviously, at one point, had feelings. Even he had a mother and a father. It was all so strange to have his partner, a walking and talking puppet, suddenly humanized with a single object.

A voice in his head startled him out of his reverie and his eyes shot open, blinding him momentarily, to look around frantically for the source.

**Close your eyes and concentrate on my voice, Deidara**.

Great, it sounded like the leader. He did as he was told however, and suddenly he found his subconscious in an inverse version of Leader-sama's office. The strangely black form of the leader spoke in the same voice, his mouth not moving, **This is my way of communicating to my subordinates. You and your new partner have a mission I want you to complete. We have been offered a good sum of money to retrieve some scrolls in River Country for Tea Country patrons. I will give more complete instructions to your partner. That is all.**

As suddenly as he had appeared in the inversely colored cavern, Deidara was back in the bright sun with his eyes tight shut. Had he even moved at all? Ugh. That was the weirdest thing he had ever done and he hoped he wouldn't have to do it again for a long time. What was that called again…? Astral projection or something like that?

He rose to find his partner and praying the red head was in better spirits by now.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, sorry for the long wait. I have been ridiculously unmotivated for the past four months. Only two chapters?! Wow, I am so slacking!! Anyway, I suddenly feel the urge to get back into this although thats what I said last time isnt it? This time I have more of a reason, though...I went to Comicon yesterday dressed as Deidara!!

My friend, a Sasori, and I were found by a Temari and Gaara and took pictures of us sitting on Gaara's chest - sooooo awesome!! And then we took slashy shounen-ai pics and so I am once more into SasoDei!! w00t!! Anywho!! Enjoy!! I love all of you so much!!

**PS:** Anyone else get depressed about all the happenings in Naruto? I dont read it - I read spoilers for research and other purposes and seriously, DEPRESSING!! -sniff- Poor Orochimaru...poor Itachi...


	17. Puzzled Inner Thoughts

**A/N: IS THIS A CHAPTER!!?? IT IS!!!!! Yeah, updated, whoo!! Quick apology for the lateness. I was seriously thinking Id just completely abandon it, but since I love you all so much, and I really adored all your reviews (sorry for not getting back to the more recent ones. My string of excuses for not continuing was beginning to run dry. But not anymore!!! Got almost all of it all planned out! Im just worried about my "last partner angst" Thats my only iffy part.**

**I happened to realize a little while ago that I probably should have put all Japanese words in bold, but Im far too lazy for that. So yeah...Kawa no Kuni is River Country. Deal with my bad formatting skills **

**And I also apologize about any differences in subject matter. I didnt go back completely hrough the fic after the year or so that I left it alone, so I might not have consistent info in here. Please bear with me, or, even better, poin it out to me so I can change it. Finally, my writing style has changed, Im sure, so forgive me. It HAS been a year DX**

**Anywhoo!!! Please enjoy it!  
I havent said so before, but its kinda obvious I dont own any Naruto characters. The story would never be written if I did.**

* * *

A calm Sasori met him on the landing by their door, holding an odd assortment of foods, empty vials, pieces of wood, and two, newly washed and neatly folded cloaks. Apparently he, too, had gotten the message from Leader-sama.

"Erm," Deidara paused, unsure of what to say and desperate not to get on the red head's bad side twice in the same hour.

Sasori merely looked up at him, his brown eyes staring the blonde down lifelessly. There wasn't a hint of aggression there; just boredom and apathy. And because those were very often seen decorating his visage, Deidara felt a bit more at ease and went on.

"Do you need any help, un?" It was still very awkward, he realized, but better to be safe than to be slammed into a nearby wall.

The red head continued his dull gaze for a second longer and turned towards their room, nudging the door completely open with his foot. "I don't, no. But you need to get ready for a mission tomorrow. Take your cloak and pack the essentials." He maneuvered his way expertly into the room despite the pile of things obstructing his view, and dumped everything onto his bed.

The voice held no malice, hurt, or even irritation, and the blonde felt even more relieved. It was strange how quickly his partner seemed to get over things. Better for him, though.

"Is that food for me, or do I need to get my own, un?" He thought he knew the answer, but he had a feeling that he might regret not asking.

The only response he received was the red head looking up from sorting out the items with an expression that clearly said, "_Are you stupid_?" It seemed Sasori wasn't in the mood to even grace him with words. Not that that was any different than usual.

Still, though, the attitude annoyed the blonde. His prudence dissipated into vague irritation and he started pulling out some of the things he would need, all the while purposely keeping his back to the other. Honestly, was it his fault that he wasn't quite used to a person who didn't need to eat? And anyway, he was only being polite!

The pout was utterly missed by Sasori, however, who was currently sifting through his poisons and scrolls, deciding which might be the most useful, and after a few silent minutes, the blonde discarded his resentment. There was no use asking for attention from one so unwilling to give it.

While he was picking out his stash of clay, he realized he had no idea what he needed to bring. Looking over his shoulder inquiringly, he asked, "What exactly are you supposed to do, anyway, un?"

_Oh that's right, Leader-sama told me to tell him about it myself_. The corner of Sasori's mouth twitched downward.

Another problem with new partners: Sir Leader rarely spoke of the mission at hand to them directly. It was up to the more senior of the two to let on as much as he felt necessary. Though a wise choice because of the dubious loyalty of new members, it was always a bother to have to reiterate everything he had just heard. Going over the information once was more than enough for him.

The red head decided to take the easiest route and explain the barest details. Not that he didn't really trust the brat (though that was up for question as well), but repeating things was almost like waiting – unnecessary and dull.

"We have been assigned to travel into the northern part of River Country to retrieve scrolls for-"

"I know that, un! More detail would be n-!" The blonde, cut off abruptly upon seeing the look on his partner's face.

"They are in a warehouse not far from the northern border of Kawa no Kuni ," Sasori continued, as if the outburst from the indignant blonde had never occurred. "There are seven scrolls in all, the details of their contents not disclosed to us, and they will be heavily guarded in the farthest back room. It will take a little less than twelve hours to get there by foot if we walk. We are to return the scrolls to our own headquarters where another team will be dispatched to deliver them to a different location." The red head paused, looking a little annoyed. "Any questions?" He rose an auburn brow that dared Deidara to ask.

Of course the blonde did dare.

"How are we actually gonna approach the situation, danna, un?"

It looked like Sasori had had enough. He turned his back on the blonde, finished packing, and replied shortly, "I'll debrief you when we're closer." Fastening the last of the scrolls to his back and in the lining of his cloak, the puppeteer hung up the garment and left the room.

Eurgh! What a cranky old man! Why on earth did Deidara put up with that spoiled jerk!? He was downright sick of being torn between admiration, respect, and hatred for his partner. It was exhausting!

The blonde chucked his clay bag, newly restocked, an assortment of kunai and shuriken, and his cloak into a pile on the floor and collapsed face first onto his bed.

His prick of a partner hadn't made any part of his experience in the Akatsuki very pleasant at all. The verbal and physical abuse along with the cold attitude really wore the sculptor down. Honestly, why couldn't he do one nice thing for him!?

_Well_, he thought, in retrospect, _the nail painting would have been really difficult without him_. Deidara's could remember how weird it felt to get liquid put onto his fingernails. And how Sasori's hands had been cold and firm, but gentle and soft. And how Sasori didn't get angry or even frown at him. He had just looked intent on the task at hand. The small smile already involuntarily upon his lips widened a little.

Danna had been right. A masterpiece. That look would probably never grace the red heads face again. Fleeting. Perfect. True art.

His thoughts drifted.

The touch of lips upon his. Wait, what? He didn't understand. Why? A sudden rush of immense emotion. Crippling. Confusion. The taste of air. Air? Nothing. Darkness. Falling, dropping. Where? Darkness. Falling.

Deidara woke from the touch to his shoulder and shot up, startled. He was rewarded with a sharp crack and immediately fell back onto his pillow, the dull throbbing ache on his forehead disorienting him momentarily. Gingerly opening his eyes, he just barely saw the scowl on his partners face as the other turned and stomped off, with a hand to his temple.

_Oh, whoops_, thought the blonde. No wonder his head hurt, too. Well, what a pleasant start to the day. Not even a whole minute into their quest and he had succeeded in riling up Sasori.

_It shouldn't have hurt, though, right? I mean, he __is__ made out of wood._ The idea felt foreign in his head even as he thought it.

The sculptor began changing into clean clothes. _How strange to be made out of wood_, he mused, putting a sock on. _I wonder how it actually worked…_? For a moment, he pondered asking the other, but common sense stamped out the idea in a flash. Not only would it not elicit a helpful answer, but it would more than likely end up upsetting the delicate balance of the puppeteer's temper – which happened more than enough without stupid plans being followed through with.

-xXx-

Damn did he hate him!

Cloak streaming out behind him, Sasori glided down the stairs.

It wasn't the bump on the head that had him going, though it had certainly not helped matters – it was the fact that he was confused. Being confused wasn't in Sasori's range of "feelings." It was foreign and meant he had to search for answers instead of just knowing the situation and dealing with it accordingly.

He had already been attached to someone. It was only natural that people reach out to at least one other person or object. Human nature required everyone to need company of some sort.

However, as he understood it (and he was bloody well sure he knew enough about his art and his body to know what he was talking about), he wasn't human anymore. Human nature didn't apply to him anymore.

So why did he feel himself so readily accepting the foolish young Iwagakure shinobi as his partner? It had been happening steadily, but it still surprised him to think about it.

Was he becoming attached to another person?

_But that's impossible, isn't it_? He had wiped away his humanity after being deserted by that last person. In all reality, he shouldn't be feeling any sort of emotion whatsoever.

Even just assuming he was simply recognizing the blonde because it had been so long since he had a competent partner, there was no explanation for why he hated the idea of replacement. For why the sense of loss and empty twisting in his stomach surfaced every time he thought about it.

He knew it really wasn't his partner's fault, and it pissed him off even more so to realize that he actually cared.

The red head glowered at the door in front of him.

He had to fix this problem. In any way possible. It was really starting to wear down his patience. He had been far too kind to the brat until now. It was time to consciously avoid any sort of leniency that he might have otherwise afforded.

Brown eyes bore a hole in the rock ahead of him as he fumed and waited for his extremely slow…associate.

-xXx-

Deidara's bright blue eyes swept over the room one last time before he grabbed his cloak and headed out in search of something to scarf down before leaving. No doubt the other would be waiting impatiently by the front door. It just seemed in is nature to do something like that. _But too bad for him_, Deidara smirked to himself, _because __real__ people need to eat_. The thought came out more bitterly than he had meant it to and he was left to wonder why he suddenly felt rather alone.

True to his suspicion, Sasori was leaning against the front door frame with an unhappy frown on his young face. The expression deepened ever so slightly when the blonde came into view. Deidara's smirk widened by the same margin. Seemed like the red head was still a little annoyed at having his skull (or whatever his head was made of now) cracked open so early in the morning. Aw well.

And just because he cared so much, he decided to take a little bit longer in the kitchen than was strictly necessary.

After rummaging through the fridge and most of the cupboards, the sculptor settled on the most interesting and cliché breakfast item: a doughnut. A box of doughnuts to be exact. And even more importantly, a box of doughnuts labeled in black Sharpie "ITACHI."

He nabbed one anyway.

As long as Itachi the Late-riser didn't come into the kitchen before dawn had even cracked and see him make off with one of his sweet possessions, there was no way blame could be put on him.

Awesome. A free, delicious breakfast. Not that most meals here weren't free, but there was something liberating about eating someone else's food.

The blonde paused by the door and took a bite of the doughnut, prolonging the action a few moments longer than was called for.

Sasori growled, swept out the door, paused as if thinking something over and turned over his shoulder to address the blonde.

"I will only say this once, brat: I don't like to be kept waiting. If you insist upon making me do so, you will sorely regret it." The words were said calmly enough, but the generally dead looking eyes had a dangerous glint to them, as if make each syllable a deadly promise.

For a second Deidara was taken aback and just stood frozen in place. Was that anger he had just seen? And for what, making him wait?

The response made the blonde's blood begin to simmer. Not only was the red head's reaction rather overdone, but it had achieved its purpose. To his immense chagrin, the Iwa nin felt completely conquered by the overwhelming authority his partner appeared to wield and nothing he did ever seemed to make any difference. It outraged him that he was so seemingly tuned to following everything the red head said.

Reluctantly, he followed the other, well aware that, as the sun began streaming through the trees up ahead, it looked as though he were merely a part of Sasori's vast and far-reaching shadow.

* * *

**A/N: A little short, yesh, but I had plans for next chaper. Plus, I liked the ending statement. A litle angstier than necessary but I thought that Sasori needed more innner demons and at least had to have some sort of reason for being mean to Deidara this time. Because I like that moment. Be afraid, little blonde one, be very afraid!!!**

**As a parting note, upon reflection, I figured my fic wasnt really much of a humor fic. So its been updated as an adventure fic. I hope that works a littel better.**

**Its said that reviews make an author update faster. I dont believe it. However, they certainly help. Please urge me to continue!! Much love to all, and thanks for the patience of all of my original readers that have stuck with me since the beginning. Almost two years, guys!!! XDDD**


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